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Ice Planet Clones #5
Vexing Valmir
Resonance is supposed to be like finding your other half.
I'm not sure how that's going to work, considering that I already feel like I'm only half of who I'm supposed to be. I've lost my memories of Earth. I can only recall fragments of a rich cultural heritage that I want back more than I want to resonate.
Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be in the cards.
Instead of returning my memories, fate has decided that I should resonate to cat-like Valmir, the most unlikable gladiator stranded on this planet alongside the human clones. He thinks I should take him to my furs, but I think I'd rather fling myself into the ocean. To stall the inevitable, I make a honey-do list for Valmir. If he completes a task for me, I'll let him win a bit of my attention. A flirty touch here, a quick caress there. It'll buy me time to figure out who I really am.
And in the meantime, it's rather fun to make Valmir squirm...
I'm not sure how that's going to work, considering that I already feel like I'm only half of who I'm supposed to be. I've lost my memories of Earth. I can only recall fragments of a rich cultural heritage that I want back more than I want to resonate.
Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be in the cards.
Instead of returning my memories, fate has decided that I should resonate to cat-like Valmir, the most unlikable gladiator stranded on this planet alongside the human clones. He thinks I should take him to my furs, but I think I'd rather fling myself into the ocean. To stall the inevitable, I make a honey-do list for Valmir. If he completes a task for me, I'll let him win a bit of my attention. A flirty touch here, a quick caress there. It'll buy me time to figure out who I really am.
And in the meantime, it's rather fun to make Valmir squirm...
252 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 31, 2026
About the author
Ruby Dixon
181 books21.3k followersRuby 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. :)
Ruby also loves coffee and dirty books and will probably be a cat lady at some point. :)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 161 reviews
August 1, 2026
3 stars
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“I stop and turn to him. ‘You’re really something, you know that?’ ‘Thank you,’ Valmir says. ‘Flattery isn’t necessary. Your touch will suffice.’”
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Coming back to Icehome after spending weeks in Dungeon Crawler Carl was like a warm hug. I absolutely flew through this. Ruby Dixon’s books are just so easy to read, and sometimes that’s exactly what I need.
That being said… this couple just didn’t do it for me. I never disliked April or Valmir, but I never found myself rooting for them either. It felt like they were making resonance harder than it needed to be, and I kept thinking, “just fulfil resonance already and figure the rest out afterwards.” I probably would’ve enjoyed it a lot more that way.
Can we also get a NICE MMC again please? I feel like we’ve had three books in a row where the guy comes across as grumpy, rude, or just generally difficult, and I’m kind of over it. Give me another Rokan. Give me another Salukh. I miss the men who are absolutely obsessed with their women from the second resonance hits.
Honestly, the thing that disappointed me most wasn’t even the romance. It was Valmir himself. The whole book revolved around April discovering more about her heritage, which was interesting, but I was way more curious about him! Why does he mark April’s doors? What’s the story behind the scars on his dick? What are the customs on his home planet? I’ve already Risdaaverse, so I know the answers, but ICP people don’t! Daisy literally lived there for years! She was RIGHT THERE! I kept waiting for him to ask her all these questions and it just… never happened. It felt like such a missed opportunity.
The continuity also bugged me. In Josie and Haeden’s book they go about a month without resonance and they’re basically dying. They’re sick, exhausted, barely functioning. These two go a month and they’re mostly just tired? Ruby… girl…
Makana, however, was adorable and I will always accept more weird little alien pets.
Overall, I had a good time because it’s Icehome and I genuinely love this world. I just don’t think April and Valmir are a couple I’ll remember in a few books’ time, which is a shame because I think there was a lot more potential here.
◄━━━━━━◆━━━━━━►
“I stop and turn to him. ‘You’re really something, you know that?’ ‘Thank you,’ Valmir says. ‘Flattery isn’t necessary. Your touch will suffice.’”
◄━━━━━━◆━━━━━━►
Coming back to Icehome after spending weeks in Dungeon Crawler Carl was like a warm hug. I absolutely flew through this. Ruby Dixon’s books are just so easy to read, and sometimes that’s exactly what I need.
That being said… this couple just didn’t do it for me. I never disliked April or Valmir, but I never found myself rooting for them either. It felt like they were making resonance harder than it needed to be, and I kept thinking, “just fulfil resonance already and figure the rest out afterwards.” I probably would’ve enjoyed it a lot more that way.
Can we also get a NICE MMC again please? I feel like we’ve had three books in a row where the guy comes across as grumpy, rude, or just generally difficult, and I’m kind of over it. Give me another Rokan. Give me another Salukh. I miss the men who are absolutely obsessed with their women from the second resonance hits.
Honestly, the thing that disappointed me most wasn’t even the romance. It was Valmir himself. The whole book revolved around April discovering more about her heritage, which was interesting, but I was way more curious about him! Why does he mark April’s doors? What’s the story behind the scars on his dick? What are the customs on his home planet? I’ve already Risdaaverse, so I know the answers, but ICP people don’t! Daisy literally lived there for years! She was RIGHT THERE! I kept waiting for him to ask her all these questions and it just… never happened. It felt like such a missed opportunity.
The continuity also bugged me. In Josie and Haeden’s book they go about a month without resonance and they’re basically dying. They’re sick, exhausted, barely functioning. These two go a month and they’re mostly just tired? Ruby… girl…
Makana, however, was adorable and I will always accept more weird little alien pets.
Overall, I had a good time because it’s Icehome and I genuinely love this world. I just don’t think April and Valmir are a couple I’ll remember in a few books’ time, which is a shame because I think there was a lot more potential here.
August 1, 2026
Trying Too Hard
I hate to leave a bad review, I normally love Ruby's books but she tried too hard when it came to the diversity of FMC. It was cringe. Also, the only jerk in the book was the FMC. Absolutely insufferable. Hoping the next book is better.
I hate to leave a bad review, I normally love Ruby's books but she tried too hard when it came to the diversity of FMC. It was cringe. Also, the only jerk in the book was the FMC. Absolutely insufferable. Hoping the next book is better.
August 1, 2026
The comfort of going back to this planet and hearing another love story is unmatched. I would have liked a little more of Valmir finding out about *his* heritage and biology. Daisy is right there. C'mon.
August 2, 2026
This was not my favourite, which is disappointing because Ruby is an auto-read for me. I still enjoyed it but I was missing a lot of the joy from previous books in the series/world. I don't know how to tag any spoilers so please read review with caution!
The FMC April and MMC Valmir don't like each other, but there are also not really any opportunities for them to work together to overcome their issues. Both characters are suffering from memory loss (as a result of being cloned) and are struggling with this in their own way. The MMC Valmir knows literally nothing about himself (at one point he refers to himself as a blank slate) and he copes with this by being an asshole to everyone he interacts with and trying to play off that he knows more than he does. The FMC remembers some of who she is and that her Hawaiian culture was big on family and community. She makes a LOT of assumptions about Valmir because he is always apart from the group. Since we get Valmir's POV, we know that it's because he feels uncomfortable and doesn't know the rules of interacting with other people, but April just assumes that it's because he's rude and doesn't hold the same values that she does.
As the book continues, their relationship comes off as more transactional than anything else. The FMC doesn't feel comfortable with her khui 'deciding' her mate for her. While not wanting your khui to decide for you is valid, her only reasoning for not even wanting to try is that she feels like they don't fit well together based on brief observations and assumptions of him. She didn't even know his name until 5 minutes before they resonated. She then does everything in her power to send Valmir away from her and doesn't try to have a conversation with him. She has him complete 12 random tasks that she makes up, each in exchange for a prize which is usually sexual in nature. It felt icky and I honestly felt bad for Valmir towards the end, because one of the tasks ended up in him injuring himself and being alone in the wilderness for days until someone found him.
When they FINALLY have a conversation, there isn't really much discussion on how they can compromise together - April basically demands that Valmir be more friendly and outgoing, which is not who he is. It felt like she was steamrolling him. She wants to sit at the fire every night and doesn't want to have a night in basically ever and Valmir just goes along with it. I feel like they needed to have more than a 5 page conversation to resolve their differences, and at the end it seems more like an HFN - I honestly don't see the two of them being happy together in the long term. There was also a bit of whiplash - they hate each other for pretty much the entire book and then they have a short conversation and then they're obsessed with each other???
I saw in another review that there is a lack of continuity with other books in the series and I totally agree - in the original IPB series, Josie and Haeden resist resonance for a month and they're basically dying. In this one they hit at least 5 weeks and they're just really tired. There's also some lack of continuity within the book himself - we have some time jumping happening with his injury and at the beginning of the book he is found by other members of the tribe but then later on in the book she went with them to find him and she was worried about him? We don't get this scene so I was super confused about that.
Overall I will continue reading the series as they're quick and easy and (usually) fun, but I was missing all of the joy and overall feel of previous instalments.
The FMC April and MMC Valmir don't like each other, but there are also not really any opportunities for them to work together to overcome their issues. Both characters are suffering from memory loss (as a result of being cloned) and are struggling with this in their own way. The MMC Valmir knows literally nothing about himself (at one point he refers to himself as a blank slate) and he copes with this by being an asshole to everyone he interacts with and trying to play off that he knows more than he does. The FMC remembers some of who she is and that her Hawaiian culture was big on family and community. She makes a LOT of assumptions about Valmir because he is always apart from the group. Since we get Valmir's POV, we know that it's because he feels uncomfortable and doesn't know the rules of interacting with other people, but April just assumes that it's because he's rude and doesn't hold the same values that she does.
As the book continues, their relationship comes off as more transactional than anything else. The FMC doesn't feel comfortable with her khui 'deciding' her mate for her. While not wanting your khui to decide for you is valid, her only reasoning for not even wanting to try is that she feels like they don't fit well together based on brief observations and assumptions of him. She didn't even know his name until 5 minutes before they resonated. She then does everything in her power to send Valmir away from her and doesn't try to have a conversation with him. She has him complete 12 random tasks that she makes up, each in exchange for a prize which is usually sexual in nature. It felt icky and I honestly felt bad for Valmir towards the end, because one of the tasks ended up in him injuring himself and being alone in the wilderness for days until someone found him.
When they FINALLY have a conversation, there isn't really much discussion on how they can compromise together - April basically demands that Valmir be more friendly and outgoing, which is not who he is. It felt like she was steamrolling him. She wants to sit at the fire every night and doesn't want to have a night in basically ever and Valmir just goes along with it. I feel like they needed to have more than a 5 page conversation to resolve their differences, and at the end it seems more like an HFN - I honestly don't see the two of them being happy together in the long term. There was also a bit of whiplash - they hate each other for pretty much the entire book and then they have a short conversation and then they're obsessed with each other???
I saw in another review that there is a lack of continuity with other books in the series and I totally agree - in the original IPB series, Josie and Haeden resist resonance for a month and they're basically dying. In this one they hit at least 5 weeks and they're just really tired. There's also some lack of continuity within the book himself - we have some time jumping happening with his injury and at the beginning of the book he is found by other members of the tribe but then later on in the book she went with them to find him and she was worried about him? We don't get this scene so I was super confused about that.
Overall I will continue reading the series as they're quick and easy and (usually) fun, but I was missing all of the joy and overall feel of previous instalments.
August 4, 2026
Character traits missing
Unfortunately, this was my least favorite book in the series so far. I think I found April's characterization to be off-putting. She's supposed to be someone that likes community and is honest, yet created a silly to do list for her mate and was openly hostile towards him? It just doesn't match up. I kept waiting for there to be more development in their relationship, but it was like they couldn't talk to each other for 80% of the book and then all of a sudden everything was perfect.
Unfortunately, this was my least favorite book in the series so far. I think I found April's characterization to be off-putting. She's supposed to be someone that likes community and is honest, yet created a silly to do list for her mate and was openly hostile towards him? It just doesn't match up. I kept waiting for there to be more development in their relationship, but it was like they couldn't talk to each other for 80% of the book and then all of a sudden everything was perfect.
October 15, 2026
Ooof. I didn’t like Valmir’s cat characteristics. Gives me the ick. But I didn’t mind his personality because he was just trying to cautiously understand and learn this world and society’s rules since he had no memories. And April was kind of a bitch to him the entire time. I hated their romance because what romance? Neither really liked each other or wanted to be together but they unconvincingly end up loving each other? I couldn’t even pin point the moment where either actually started genuinely liking the other. It was so disjointed. Also, so much miscommunication. 🙄 I hope the next one is better.
August 1, 2026
Valmir and April were both prickly in their own ways, though Valmir was prickly with everyone and April was mostly just prickly with him. Her honey-do list was a creative postponement of resonance and actually gave them a chance connect, even if she didn’t intend for it to be that. It’s always fun to come back to Not-Hoth.
Spice: 3/5
Triggers: amnesia, pregnancy, hunting for sport, animal injury, broken ankle
Spice: 3/5
Triggers: amnesia, pregnancy, hunting for sport, animal injury, broken ankle
August 9, 2026
Was just a 3 star book. One of the weaker ones plot wise.
I didn’t really understand the hate April has for Valmir. We’re constantly told how awful he is but we don’t really see it. It’s never truly shown. He’s a bit of a loaner and wants to know “rules” but none of that makes him some awful jerk that no one likes.
Honestly the only part I can even think of where we’re shown he’s supposedly a jerk is when he’s helping with the snail invasion and Jason wars to know why he’s not being picking on him. But prior to this we don’t see him pick on anyone. He’s not even really gruff like Raahosh or silent and stoic like Roku.
The whole book just didn’t really to go anywhere. There really could have been a lot to build on with the 12 tasks of the “honey-do” list but that was really an impulsive thought on April’s part that kind of fell off.
I didn’t particularly care for April, I don’t dislike her, but I didn’t connect to her. I would have liked to have seen her culture woven in better instead of making it so choppy and forced.
I feel mislead by the so called “trigger warnings” as well. It had amnesia listed, which I love a good amnesia story, but there was no amnesia in this book. The clones and splices don’t have amnesia, they simply weren’t given all the bits of their original person. I felt that was very misleading and I kept waiting for an accident or something that would lead to a character having amnesia.
I didn’t really understand the hate April has for Valmir. We’re constantly told how awful he is but we don’t really see it. It’s never truly shown. He’s a bit of a loaner and wants to know “rules” but none of that makes him some awful jerk that no one likes.
Honestly the only part I can even think of where we’re shown he’s supposedly a jerk is when he’s helping with the snail invasion and Jason wars to know why he’s not being picking on him. But prior to this we don’t see him pick on anyone. He’s not even really gruff like Raahosh or silent and stoic like Roku.
The whole book just didn’t really to go anywhere. There really could have been a lot to build on with the 12 tasks of the “honey-do” list but that was really an impulsive thought on April’s part that kind of fell off.
I didn’t particularly care for April, I don’t dislike her, but I didn’t connect to her. I would have liked to have seen her culture woven in better instead of making it so choppy and forced.
I feel mislead by the so called “trigger warnings” as well. It had amnesia listed, which I love a good amnesia story, but there was no amnesia in this book. The clones and splices don’t have amnesia, they simply weren’t given all the bits of their original person. I felt that was very misleading and I kept waiting for an accident or something that would lead to a character having amnesia.
August 1, 2026
I'm sad to say that this is the first time I couldn't see why a couple got together, excusing the resonance. They should just get April pregnant and move on, Ok, to be fair, there's a moment in the end, when April realizes Valmir stays away because of his lack of memories, that could've been a good reason, but it's not deeply explored. I really liked April's journey regarding her memories, and her relationship with the tribe, and nature. I just couldn't see them loving each other beyond the resonance putting them together.
August 8, 2026
The FMC is rude ,mean,hateful,uses the poor alien mmc,and overall a peice of trash person.the mmc is a gladiator clone with no memories dumped on NotHoth and resonated to a peice of crap that strings him along 3/4 the book.she shows more kindness and love to her pet than her resonance partner. This is the worst FMC in the whole IPB universe and thats over 80 books.Ipb,ice home, risdaverse,clones,corsairs,novellas.I LOVE RUBY DIXON and own tons of her work but this is not good.
August 6, 2026
I normally love Ruby’s books, but they’ve been missing the mark for me lately. The FMC was so off-putting to me with how she regarded the MMC.
August 11, 2026
Great to be back at Icehome beach. We met Valmir and April in Corvak's Challenge (which, sidebar, is fantastic), they are resonating but no one likes Valmir because he is a jerk. Well, turns out he's just socially insecure because he is a clone who wakes up completely wiped of all knowledge. Some of the gladiator clones have battle strategies and social skills downloaded, he knows his name, and that's it. He's observing and trying to figure out the rules everyone plays by to interact, and acting all defensive and caustic to hide his insecurities. At one point he says "You always wonder what you don't have, or if there's some basic information you're missing somehow. It feels like being left out of the joke, always." and friends? I actually teared up.
So just as big of a jerk, but cloaking it under socially acceptable roles (because she has some memory holes like all the clones, but actually knows a lot) is April. She thinks she's glitching because she keeps thinking of words in her native Hawaiian and her translator chip is all, idk, are we sure that's a language? I gotta say, didn't love her attitude. She doesn't want to resonate to Valmir, because he is a jerk, but she strings it along for a long time. Seems like Dixon strays from canon a little here, because she references Josie as holding out the longest ever at a month, and that it was brutal, but these two go longer and it doesn't seem bad.
She is mean to him, but he likes it. They have a sparring dynamic that really works for them. At one point Valmir looks at Corvak and Aidy, with their constant mutual support and agreement, and thinks, boooooring. Anyway, finally April thinks to ask some basic questions about Valmir, and he keeps dropping tidbits and then quickly hiding his vulnerabilities "'No creature should be trapped in a cage so small that it feels suffocating.' I push away any bad memories that float to mind and stand up, feeling the need to stretch my own legs.'"
The true stars of this book are the side characters. Never change Skarr, with his "I must find my mate. Vivi will want me to tell the others what a grand job she did cooking for the feast." (recall that this drove Vivi crazy). Valmir maybe speaks for us all with "I wonder if Skarr was hit on the head before they shoved him into a stasis pod." He might be my favorite Icehome character and should show up in all the books, annoying his Vivi. Runner up best side character is Dawn, who is April's roommate, and when April is like, but I don't want to resonate! I have a lot going on! is basically like "Everyone has had to figure out the same thing" and "Not to be a jerk but you DO know what to do. Resonance is clear. You just don't want to do it." I love her.
Anyway, if you like snark and bluster hiding insecurities, you will like this dynamic a lot. April was deeply conflicted because she couldn't remember her Hawaiian culture and didn't want to add partnering up to the mix, I also, like Dawn, had very minimal sympathy for it. As several characters tell her, do the deed and peace out if you aren't ready to partner. I didn't love how it was laid out clearly that you can't resist resonance, and it all works out and if it isn't for you it doesn't have to mean lifelong tie, but ALSO she resisted resonance and drew it out by toying with someone and didn't communicate what she wanted or needed from the situation. Ah gameplay!
Apparently the next couple is Chalath and Natalie, another gladiator who knows a lot and human who was completely wiped, so opposite dynamic of this one. Why not the two ancestors, who don't have the language but are obviously attached to specific humans? Why not that whole Sabrina/Jason/Kyth thing? Whatever happened to his constantly dying Khuis? Did that just resolve? I guess that is how Dixon keeps us reading.
So just as big of a jerk, but cloaking it under socially acceptable roles (because she has some memory holes like all the clones, but actually knows a lot) is April. She thinks she's glitching because she keeps thinking of words in her native Hawaiian and her translator chip is all, idk, are we sure that's a language? I gotta say, didn't love her attitude. She doesn't want to resonate to Valmir, because he is a jerk, but she strings it along for a long time. Seems like Dixon strays from canon a little here, because she references Josie as holding out the longest ever at a month, and that it was brutal, but these two go longer and it doesn't seem bad.
She is mean to him, but he likes it. They have a sparring dynamic that really works for them. At one point Valmir looks at Corvak and Aidy, with their constant mutual support and agreement, and thinks, boooooring. Anyway, finally April thinks to ask some basic questions about Valmir, and he keeps dropping tidbits and then quickly hiding his vulnerabilities "'No creature should be trapped in a cage so small that it feels suffocating.' I push away any bad memories that float to mind and stand up, feeling the need to stretch my own legs.'"
The true stars of this book are the side characters. Never change Skarr, with his "I must find my mate. Vivi will want me to tell the others what a grand job she did cooking for the feast." (recall that this drove Vivi crazy). Valmir maybe speaks for us all with "I wonder if Skarr was hit on the head before they shoved him into a stasis pod." He might be my favorite Icehome character and should show up in all the books, annoying his Vivi. Runner up best side character is Dawn, who is April's roommate, and when April is like, but I don't want to resonate! I have a lot going on! is basically like "Everyone has had to figure out the same thing" and "Not to be a jerk but you DO know what to do. Resonance is clear. You just don't want to do it." I love her.
Anyway, if you like snark and bluster hiding insecurities, you will like this dynamic a lot. April was deeply conflicted because she couldn't remember her Hawaiian culture and didn't want to add partnering up to the mix, I also, like Dawn, had very minimal sympathy for it. As several characters tell her, do the deed and peace out if you aren't ready to partner. I didn't love how it was laid out clearly that you can't resist resonance, and it all works out and if it isn't for you it doesn't have to mean lifelong tie, but ALSO she resisted resonance and drew it out by toying with someone and didn't communicate what she wanted or needed from the situation. Ah gameplay!
Apparently the next couple is Chalath and Natalie, another gladiator who knows a lot and human who was completely wiped, so opposite dynamic of this one. Why not the two ancestors, who don't have the language but are obviously attached to specific humans? Why not that whole Sabrina/Jason/Kyth thing? Whatever happened to his constantly dying Khuis? Did that just resolve? I guess that is how Dixon keeps us reading.
August 30, 2026
Summary:
And just like that, I have officially caught up with Ice Planet. No more books. Nothing left. I am simply expected to wait for Ruby Dixon to write another one like some sort of patient person. Ruby, if we could pick up the pace, that would be excellent.
Vexing Valmir follows April and Valmir, our Praxxian cat-man, and I went into this with pretty high hopes. Unfortunately, I encountered an obstacle I simply could not overcome: the cover. I KNOW you aren’t supposed to judge a book by its cover, but nobody ever said I couldn’t let the cover actively sabotage my reading experience. Every time Valmir was supposed to be sexy, my brain helpfully supplied the ugly-ass cat man from the front of the book. There was no recovering from this.
Characters:
April: I didn’t really love her. I appreciated Ruby giving her a Hawaiian background and bringing more cultures into this universe, but some of the cultural references felt strangely overexplained to me. Rather than feeling naturally woven into April’s character, there were moments where I became very aware that the book was explaining her culture to me. It wasn’t enough to seriously bother me, but combined with finding April a little annoying generally, I never really connected with her.
Valmir: I maintain that Valmir could have been great. Sexy. Charming. Perfectly lovely. Unfortunately, he was fighting a battle against his own cover art and he lost. Every single time I tried to construct an attractive Valmir in my imagination, that bloody cat man returned. I am sorry, Valmir. You deserved better. We both did.
Overall Thoughts:
This wasn’t a bad book at all, which makes three stars feel slightly unfair. The story itself was good, there was plenty here that I enjoyed, and I’m still completely invested in this universe. I just didn’t connect with April enough for the romance to carry me through the Great Valmir Visualization Crisis of 2026.
More importantly, though, I cannot believe I’m caught up. I started with Ice Planet Barbarians, made my way through Icehome, continued into the newer books, and now there is simply… nothing left to read. Horrible.
Thankfully, Ruby Dixon has approximately four million other books, so I suppose I’ll survive. Time to start digging through the rest of her catalogue while I wait.
Rating:
★★★☆☆
And just like that, I have officially caught up with Ice Planet. No more books. Nothing left. I am simply expected to wait for Ruby Dixon to write another one like some sort of patient person. Ruby, if we could pick up the pace, that would be excellent.
Vexing Valmir follows April and Valmir, our Praxxian cat-man, and I went into this with pretty high hopes. Unfortunately, I encountered an obstacle I simply could not overcome: the cover. I KNOW you aren’t supposed to judge a book by its cover, but nobody ever said I couldn’t let the cover actively sabotage my reading experience. Every time Valmir was supposed to be sexy, my brain helpfully supplied the ugly-ass cat man from the front of the book. There was no recovering from this.
Characters:
April: I didn’t really love her. I appreciated Ruby giving her a Hawaiian background and bringing more cultures into this universe, but some of the cultural references felt strangely overexplained to me. Rather than feeling naturally woven into April’s character, there were moments where I became very aware that the book was explaining her culture to me. It wasn’t enough to seriously bother me, but combined with finding April a little annoying generally, I never really connected with her.
Valmir: I maintain that Valmir could have been great. Sexy. Charming. Perfectly lovely. Unfortunately, he was fighting a battle against his own cover art and he lost. Every single time I tried to construct an attractive Valmir in my imagination, that bloody cat man returned. I am sorry, Valmir. You deserved better. We both did.
Overall Thoughts:
This wasn’t a bad book at all, which makes three stars feel slightly unfair. The story itself was good, there was plenty here that I enjoyed, and I’m still completely invested in this universe. I just didn’t connect with April enough for the romance to carry me through the Great Valmir Visualization Crisis of 2026.
More importantly, though, I cannot believe I’m caught up. I started with Ice Planet Barbarians, made my way through Icehome, continued into the newer books, and now there is simply… nothing left to read. Horrible.
Thankfully, Ruby Dixon has approximately four million other books, so I suppose I’ll survive. Time to start digging through the rest of her catalogue while I wait.
Rating:
★★★☆☆
September 25, 2026
I never thought I'd see the day when I DNF a Ruby Dixon book. But I can't finish this one. I was getting angrier at the shit April pulls, she was like the toxic ex from Reddit stories. Valmir has no memories, and part of how he copes with this is by following rules. He needed someone who would establish clear boundaries he could respect, yet April kept moving the goalpost. Neither can communicate to save their lives (actually, nobody in this book seems to be able to communicate clearly, even characters that were pretty good at it in previous books), and April definitely doesn't listen to anyone but herself. For someone who, supposedly, was so big on community, she was extremely Judgmental, and in the 70% I read she doesn't give one single sincere apology to anyone, though in her thoughts she feels guilty. I don't buy it. If she did, she would apologize and try not to do the same shit again, but nope. She makes a lot of assumptions about Valmir, and she never goes deeper than skin level, so when he says she sees him, I was screaming at my e-reader that no, she didn't. If she did she'd know Valmir needs her to put down clear, strict boundaries and stop changing them. I'm disappointed to see this uber toxic relationship romanticized.
August 6, 2026
I am not all the way finished yet but I know that this is my rating and my thoughts.
There’s something… vexing (😂) about this story. I love how different it is than the other couplings on the beach. There’s a lil femdom going on which I really do like. But that’s where it ends. The elements of her Hawaiian culture fall flat, him being a dick, them having that banter but he’s also just shitty because he’s “vulnerable”, how they somehow fall for each other, this honey-do list. It was all insanely disjointed and a let down for me.
There’s something… vexing (😂) about this story. I love how different it is than the other couplings on the beach. There’s a lil femdom going on which I really do like. But that’s where it ends. The elements of her Hawaiian culture fall flat, him being a dick, them having that banter but he’s also just shitty because he’s “vulnerable”, how they somehow fall for each other, this honey-do list. It was all insanely disjointed and a let down for me.
September 3, 2026
I love Ruby Dixon’s books and have read 90+ of them. Unfortunately, this book just didn’t quite hit for me.
The characters didn’t really seem to like each other for about 80% of the book, and there was very little romantic development between them. For a romance novel, I found myself really missing that emotional connection and chemistry that I usually love in Ruby Dixon’s books.
This one fell a little flat for me.
The characters didn’t really seem to like each other for about 80% of the book, and there was very little romantic development between them. For a romance novel, I found myself really missing that emotional connection and chemistry that I usually love in Ruby Dixon’s books.
This one fell a little flat for me.
August 8, 2026
I didn’t like the FMC. I don’t get why she kept saying that he was a jerk.
He was just not a people person and I get that but there was no need to force him to socialize just because she did.
He was just not a people person and I get that but there was no need to force him to socialize just because she did.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2026
We're back on Not-Hoth with the clones as they find love in all the right places. Or, well, resonance finds them. Sometimes they end up resonating to someone they don't have much of an initial connection to and they fight that resonance. Much like how April fought against this thing between her and Valmir.
I feel like I'm being a little glib here. April didn't know Valmir other than that he's one of the cat-like gladiators who comes off as a little unpleasant. He tends to keep to himself which is a very different from how she approaches their new life. In short, they seem like they wouldn't be a good fit.
Except...they're more alike than April sees at first. Valmir is missing enough of his memories that he relies on rules and structure to keep himself on track. He doesn't necessarily mean to come across as a first-class jerk, he just genuinely doesn't know how to socialize. April is also missing memories. Her translator keeps glitching on words she feels like she should know and she just feels like she's missing something important about herself.
It takes time and patience and maybe some hardcore make out sessions before things click for these two. Well, and a trip that ends with them spending some time in a hunter cave. Because privacy. Let's just say that these two enjoy verbally sparring with one another and it takes a while for them to get fully down and dirty and fulfill resonance. Also, Skarr is sort of a adorable idiot. I mean, I knew this. It's just...mind control? Really? Yup. An adorable idiot. (Moral of this story: don't take dating advice from Skarr.)
-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
I feel like I'm being a little glib here. April didn't know Valmir other than that he's one of the cat-like gladiators who comes off as a little unpleasant. He tends to keep to himself which is a very different from how she approaches their new life. In short, they seem like they wouldn't be a good fit.
Except...they're more alike than April sees at first. Valmir is missing enough of his memories that he relies on rules and structure to keep himself on track. He doesn't necessarily mean to come across as a first-class jerk, he just genuinely doesn't know how to socialize. April is also missing memories. Her translator keeps glitching on words she feels like she should know and she just feels like she's missing something important about herself.
It takes time and patience and maybe some hardcore make out sessions before things click for these two. Well, and a trip that ends with them spending some time in a hunter cave. Because privacy. Let's just say that these two enjoy verbally sparring with one another and it takes a while for them to get fully down and dirty and fulfill resonance. Also, Skarr is sort of a adorable idiot. I mean, I knew this. It's just...mind control? Really? Yup. An adorable idiot. (Moral of this story: don't take dating advice from Skarr.)
-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
August 12, 2026
P: 3/5
E: 3/5
A: 3/5
C: 4/5
H: 4/5
Total 17/25 (3.4 stars)
This was the first Ruby Dixon book that I almost DNF'd. I didn't like either character at first and the sexual stuff was so early in the book. The jizz on the door scene was so gross I was ready to drop it right there. I know Praxiians in her universe have been established to do this but it never seemed as gross or graphic in the Risda books that had it. I decided to stick with it, because I've read every Ruby Dixon book that is available on kindle, and not hated a single one. I'm actually really glad I didn't dnf because almost right after that scene the story got a lot better. Valmir in particular was very cute and I really enjoyed all the chapters that were his pov. A lot of their banters in the later part of the book were also very fun. The ending was cute and I was really rooting for them by that point. I also loved getting to see Liz (i think her book is number 2 in the ice planet barbarians series) and she's one of my favs in the series. I think her and Harlow's books continue to be my favorites. I also loved seeing Devi and her little science focused family. She's always a great bit of comedy and cuteness. Also pak is the cutest cutie patootie ever, and so freaking adorables. It made me want to go back and read the book that was about his parents. The fishing scene with the kids was probably my favorite. Super cute! If i was rating the second half of the book, this would have been 4 or 5 stars, but the first half the book was like 1 or 2 stars, so I averaged it for the total.
E: 3/5
A: 3/5
C: 4/5
H: 4/5
Total 17/25 (3.4 stars)
This was the first Ruby Dixon book that I almost DNF'd. I didn't like either character at first and the sexual stuff was so early in the book. The jizz on the door scene was so gross I was ready to drop it right there. I know Praxiians in her universe have been established to do this but it never seemed as gross or graphic in the Risda books that had it. I decided to stick with it, because I've read every Ruby Dixon book that is available on kindle, and not hated a single one. I'm actually really glad I didn't dnf because almost right after that scene the story got a lot better. Valmir in particular was very cute and I really enjoyed all the chapters that were his pov. A lot of their banters in the later part of the book were also very fun. The ending was cute and I was really rooting for them by that point. I also loved getting to see Liz (i think her book is number 2 in the ice planet barbarians series) and she's one of my favs in the series. I think her and Harlow's books continue to be my favorites. I also loved seeing Devi and her little science focused family. She's always a great bit of comedy and cuteness. Also pak is the cutest cutie patootie ever, and so freaking adorables. It made me want to go back and read the book that was about his parents. The fishing scene with the kids was probably my favorite. Super cute! If i was rating the second half of the book, this would have been 4 or 5 stars, but the first half the book was like 1 or 2 stars, so I averaged it for the total.
August 2, 2026
April resonated to Valmir, the most unlikable cat-like gladiator. Still struggling with little to no memories and adjusting life in an ice planet, she opted to make a honey-do list for Valmir to stall.
Not my home but I know my way around.
It's always fun and nostalgic to go back to Not-Hoth, IceHome, whatever you want to call it. I love seeing glimpses of the previous characters, seeing their babies, reading about the progress in the community, and many more. Found family at best.
The characters resonated during the last book of IceHome and it kinda picked up on that. However, it really surprised me that this is somewhat of a slowburn. Very fun surprise for me.
I lowkey forgot about our characters ngl but it's very easy to get a hang on them once you started reading. April's a clone, very nondescript, and struggling with knowing words she doesn't know the meaning about. She's lost but she's doing her best to integrate to the community. Valmir's prickly because he's also feeling lost and comparing himself to the other clones. He got no memory as well, and so being surrounded by fighters or shall I say, the taters, took it toll so he's on the fringes and doesn't really know how to socialize.
Get this, because of the both of them feeling lost, they didn't really communicate much so the whole thing kinda stems from that. I don't really like the miscommunication trope but in this case, it's forgiveable because of the whole clone thing.
I love the representation and I know the author took a great deal of care to represent April's Hawaiians roots.
I cannot wait for the next book!
Not my home but I know my way around.
It's always fun and nostalgic to go back to Not-Hoth, IceHome, whatever you want to call it. I love seeing glimpses of the previous characters, seeing their babies, reading about the progress in the community, and many more. Found family at best.
The characters resonated during the last book of IceHome and it kinda picked up on that. However, it really surprised me that this is somewhat of a slowburn. Very fun surprise for me.
I lowkey forgot about our characters ngl but it's very easy to get a hang on them once you started reading. April's a clone, very nondescript, and struggling with knowing words she doesn't know the meaning about. She's lost but she's doing her best to integrate to the community. Valmir's prickly because he's also feeling lost and comparing himself to the other clones. He got no memory as well, and so being surrounded by fighters or shall I say, the taters, took it toll so he's on the fringes and doesn't really know how to socialize.
Get this, because of the both of them feeling lost, they didn't really communicate much so the whole thing kinda stems from that. I don't really like the miscommunication trope but in this case, it's forgiveable because of the whole clone thing.
I love the representation and I know the author took a great deal of care to represent April's Hawaiians roots.
I cannot wait for the next book!
September 17, 2026
I have some mixed feelings on this book. While I liked the premise: the heroine creating a honey-do list for her mate before she's ready to accept resonance, I didn't love the execution. This could have been funny, fun and light. It started out that way, but the longer it dragged on, the more callous and unfeeling the heroine seemed.
The MMC, Valmir, is a cat. Everything about his personality screams cat, and I like cats, so it was easy to like him, especially when we were in his head and saw how lonely it was there. The FMC, April, was a bit less likeable. While a lot of her issues with Valmir seemed to stem from her need to be a part of the group and his tendency to remain on the sidelines, it feels like this could have been solved earlier on by the very same conversation that was had late in the book.
I did enjoy the interactions with the rest of the tribe. That found family aspect is always one of my favorite features of these stories. While this book was not my favorite, Ruby Dixon is an auto-read for me, and it's rare that she misses, so I'll definitely be back for more.
The MMC, Valmir, is a cat. Everything about his personality screams cat, and I like cats, so it was easy to like him, especially when we were in his head and saw how lonely it was there. The FMC, April, was a bit less likeable. While a lot of her issues with Valmir seemed to stem from her need to be a part of the group and his tendency to remain on the sidelines, it feels like this could have been solved earlier on by the very same conversation that was had late in the book.
I did enjoy the interactions with the rest of the tribe. That found family aspect is always one of my favorite features of these stories. While this book was not my favorite, Ruby Dixon is an auto-read for me, and it's rare that she misses, so I'll definitely be back for more.
October 13, 2026
Vexing Valmir features April, human and Valmir, alien. This is a continuation of the ice planet barbarians saga, featuring clones on Ice Home beach. In this instalment, April hates Valmir, who is a loner. When they resonate, April is frustrated because Valmir doesn’t seem like he’ll be a match for her.
I really, really enjoy this series, but I have found that I enjoy the instalments more when the couple has outside force to recon with. When they are just bickering because “resonance got it wrong” I don’t enjoy them as much. It’s been 30+ books, the resonance is going to happen. It’s inevitable. And when that’s the only conflict in the book, it really really slow for pacing and makes it more boring.
Was it cute to see past fave couple? Yes. But this couldn’t hold my attention for long and took me almost a month to read.
Overall, meh.
I really, really enjoy this series, but I have found that I enjoy the instalments more when the couple has outside force to recon with. When they are just bickering because “resonance got it wrong” I don’t enjoy them as much. It’s been 30+ books, the resonance is going to happen. It’s inevitable. And when that’s the only conflict in the book, it really really slow for pacing and makes it more boring.
Was it cute to see past fave couple? Yes. But this couldn’t hold my attention for long and took me almost a month to read.
Overall, meh.
August 10, 2026
This had an odd timeline that made it hard to follow. It's been so long since I read the other books that so many of the characters/events were a bit of a blank for me and this books storyline seemed to rely on the reader already being "in the know" about it all. I also didn't really like or connect with either main character. I honestly think the Not-Hoth world and cast in these books is just too large to maintain unless you are binging the books; I will likely let several more books release before I get back to them to see if that increases my enjoyment.
August 3, 2026
You know that cosy warm feeling when you put on your fave jammies and curl up in bed with fresh clean sheets and a book? Well being back on Not-Hoth is exactly like that, I was just so happy to be back in this world and seeing all my fave characters. Reading these books are like a warm hug 🤗🥹☺️
I really enjoyed reading April rediscovering her Hawaiian culture when her memories started to return, and I loved how supportive Valmir was of her.
I also thought their banter was great and I liked how they gradually started to realise they actually like each other, the relationship felt more real rather than them being completely blinded by the khui.
all in all a cute read and I honestly don't think I'll ever get tired of going back into this world and I Miss Dixon never stops writing these 💙
I really enjoyed reading April rediscovering her Hawaiian culture when her memories started to return, and I loved how supportive Valmir was of her.
I also thought their banter was great and I liked how they gradually started to realise they actually like each other, the relationship felt more real rather than them being completely blinded by the khui.
all in all a cute read and I honestly don't think I'll ever get tired of going back into this world and I Miss Dixon never stops writing these 💙
October 15, 2026
I really thought my girl Ruby was gonna pull an autistic alien outta her butt….. guy doesn’t like people, is over stimulated, loves rules, doesn’t understand social interaction….
But womp. Not autistic just clueless.
But womp. Not autistic just clueless.
August 2, 2026
A nice return to the world.
I think I would've liked it better if all 12 tasks had been shown, and seeing them connect more and more. It felt rushed to me.
I think I would've liked it better if all 12 tasks had been shown, and seeing them connect more and more. It felt rushed to me.
August 23, 2026
How did these two end up working? Honestly? Idk but I had fun. MMC strikes me as autistic coded
August 30, 2026
3.5 stars
August 2, 2026
I’m becoming fatigued with the IPB series/spin-offs, which is a shame. There are just so many couples and plots to keep track of that I didn’t find myself invested in this new couple.
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