The Barbarian's Captive

Primarian Mates #1

by Maddie Taylor

Light years from home, plant biologist Lt. Eva La Croix and her all-female exploration team land on a planet they believe is a perfect substitute for the dying Earth. They are set upon by huge alien hunters and Eva is captured by the barbarian leader. Tossed over his shoulder, she is carried back to camp, tethered to his bed, seduced by his touch, and claimed as his own.

In spite of her fear, she is captivated by the gorgeous, dominant male with his long gleaming black hair, smooth bronze skin, and glimmering golden eyes. Expecting her full compliance, he strips her naked and prepares her for an intimate and very thorough inspection. Horrified, Eva protests, but quickly learns defiance will be met with swift consequences, including a bare bottom spanking until he proves to her who is in command.

Deemed compatible, she and her teammates are whisked away to the barbarians' world where they are mated to these powerful men. While pampered and protected, the women are expected to submit to their male's authority and breed their young. Will Eva learn to adapt to their unusual beliefs and old-fashioned ways? Can she sacrifice her independence and surrender to this dynamic, highly sexual alien male who has conquered her body, and perhaps her heart? Or when escape is imminent, will she flee with the others, never to see him again and feel the rampant desire that now surges through her blood for her compelling barbarian mate?

Publisher's note: The Barbarian's Captive is a romantic novel containing sexual scenes, spanking, elements of BDSM, medical and anal play. If this subject matter is offensive, please do not buy this book.

Genres: Romance, Science Fiction, Aliens, BDSM, Erotica, Fantasy, Science Fiction Romance

396 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 22, 2016

About the author

USA Today and #1 International Bestselling Author, Maddie is a lifelong reader who became a romance junkie as a teen with her first romance novel, The Wolf and the Dove by Kathleen Woodiwiss. From then on, she was hooked and gobbled up everything she could get her hands on, whether contemporary, historical, paranormal, or sci-fi.

With over seventy published works, a quarter of a million books sold, and fifty million pages read, Maddie writes fast-paced, steamy fiction in multiple genres from contemporary to Sci-fi to historical western romance. Pour yourself a glass of wine, curl up in your favorite chair, and escape for a few hours in the rich worlds she creates. It will be time well spent.

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Reviews

[J. C. Red · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure how I'm going to start reviewing this book. Or rather, my rant. I don't think I've ever been this enraged, disgusted even, with a book, that much is clear. Beware of possible spoilers and a rather long rant.

I thought I knew what I was getting into with this book. It's a trope that's used very often in the genre, alien males who don't have enough women left on their home planet and they need more to assure the survival of their species. They're also domineering and the women in their culture are always expected to defer to the male. It's fantasy, who cares. People have different cravings, and I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting things that most would find highly offensive or just plain disgusting. The kink in this book (domestic discipline) is quite tame compared to others. I've read plenty of books were women are treated considerably worse, but this book...dear god did this book rub me the wrong way.

In the beginning I kind of liked it. The language barrier, the barbarian males and the confused women trying to make sense of it all, it certainly got me hooked. It sounded like it might be something similar to Ruby Dixon's alien series. But then, suddenly, they're no longer barbarians. They're civilized people, from a highly civilized planet, and just because they think women are little more than pets, doesn't make them barbaric. They live well, have nice clothes and properties, elaborate meals, etc. They also have highly advanced technology, even teleporting. So yeah, I found the title and blurb quite misleading.

I also didn't care much for the way this book is written. For a long time, about a third of the book I think, it was just the male character explaining the ways of his world to Eva. It's not very engaging to keep reading extensive explanations of how his world works, especially since there were very few surprising facts along the way. It would've gotten extremely boring if the things that were said and thought weren't so damn enraging. Which brings me to why I hated this book so much.

As I mentioned earlier, I liked the first part. Which was what I expected the book to be after reading the blurb. But the moment they planted that chip in her that allowed for them to understand each other perfectly, the book just took a complete nose dive for me.

I had already accepted that in this world men were the dominant species and that women deferred to them. It's their world, they can do whatever they want with it. You wouldn't even have to go on intergalactic travels to find something like it, it's not like there aren't very similar cultures right here on Earth.

My problem was the way the author handled the women's integration in this society. It was the way this book seemed to very abruptly turn into some kind of very sexist propaganda. Discussions after discussions explaining why their way is the better way. The things that were said and easily accepted by the heroine as logical and factual turned my stomach. The only reason why I continued reading was because when I skimmed through the last chapter and the epilogue, it seemed like maybe the men of this world accepted that women were at the very least pea-brained. But the more I read, the more I realised that was not happening. In fact, it was getting worse.

When the heroine is implanted with that chip that allows her to understand and speak his language, their lengthy conversations begin. He kept spanking her for her 'transgressions', and she is mortified, obviously. So they start talking, and he begins convincing her of how much better their ways are. She tells him how on Earth, women have been considered equals to men for centuries. So he asks her, do you believe in a higher power, a creator? She says yes. So he asks:

"Then if our Maker wanted us to be the same, why make us different? (...) We believe it's because each gender has a distinct purpose. (...) the female was made smaller, softer, with a great capacity to love, the perfect helpmate and loving nurturer of our young."

To which, she says: "So did we, until the twentieth century. Then we evolved."

And then....oh my fucking God how this enraged me. He asks, her:

"Is that so? Tell me, how is that evolution working in your society?"

Holy. Fuck. From there, she goes on to think how Earth was a mess, how the "world social order was in disarray". Is this really being suggested here? That the reason we have wars, famine, overcrowded population, violent crimes etc. is because women are equal to men? How is this necessary for a dime-a-dozen spanking erotica novel? I feel 0 regret in bashing the book for this. Zero. If this were about any other group of people except for women, this book would probably be pulled from Amazon.

But, of course, there's more. Following this 'revelation', he continues to explain how "our males usually deal with things under their own roofs before it gets that far." That far being "conflicts that arise outside the family and affect the public good", which usually result in public floggings in the town square, or something of the sort.

Immediately after he makes her understand that her spankings aren't really beatings, so they're basically ok. It's not like he left any bruises.

"Usually a few swats with an open palm is sufficient." And not to worry, hitting with closed fists was prohibited a while ago.

At this point, she's still not convinced that she should be spanked by her mate, never speak out of turn, and generally listen to his every command. So he goes on to explain it some more, comparing her situation with him with her role and life in the military. Apparently, since in the military you're always supposed to listen to your superior, and never question him/her, with the threat of a punishment, makes it the same as having to listen to a man you barely met spank you, tame you, correct you when you don't want to fuck on command, or when you say the word "fuck", among many others. So at the end of this very profound analogy, she realizes that she prefers taking a spanking from him rather than staying in solitary for 3 days as punishment in the military. It's not just spankings, obviously. Women are such crazy, flimsy creatures, sometimes the males really have to think outside the box to correct their behaviour.

"Let's just say our men can be very creative if the behaviour doesn't change."

I feel like I have to repeat myself here, before anyone jumps me for criticizing something that I was warned by the publisher note would happen. I have no problem with domestic discipline erotica. Nor with these aliens' way of life, it's their business. But here it's being clearly suggested that women are stupid creatures, good for one thing only (that is breeding, in case you're a woman and your small brain simply can't understand), and not even that, that the collapse of the planet probably sits on their shoulders. I felt like this book tried to be more than erotica, but rather some kind of manifesto against women's rights disguised as erotica.

I just wanted it to stop trying to make this rational. Trying to make it sound logical. Like this is the only way a world can be peaceful and rich, if the women are controlled by their men. But it didn't. And obviously, some discussions were necessary for the heroine to understand her situation, but the way they were handled enraged me. I just couldn't read it as a fantasy anymore. It became too real, I think. Especially since it didn't feel that erotic compared to many of the contemporary romances currently on the market.

Now on with the rant.

The heroine tells the hero about the troubles that Earth had in recent years, why they had to go look for other planets. He says that Earth sounds horrendous, and thank god we saved you from that place. She is, as she should be, appalled at that:

"To what end? To be enslaved by another race?"

But he sees it as being "cherished, cared for and protected." Fair enough, that's how he was raised to understand the world.

But then Eva complains about how they're just dressed up pets put on display, wearing clothes, collars etc that show who they belong to. He asks if they don't do such things on Earth too, like somehow the fact that women take their husbands' names is the same thing.

Then apparently she's also a judgemental bitch for not wanting to take part in their way of life. I'm sorry, but if you're making her live a completely different way of life, she has all the fucking right in the world to judge.

When she makes a reference to his sexual experiences, he says this:

"You are trying my patience, little one. Would you like to discuss why you weren't chaste at your breeding, or with whom or how many males you were intimate with?"

Wtf??? Is he actually suggesting she's a whore for having sex before he raped her the first time, even though she never could've known she'd meet him?

One of the other methods for dealing with hard-to-tame women is a so-called silencer. Another women that was captured with Eva had too much of a backbone for her gender, so her 'mate' had to put a silencer on her that basically made it so no one would hear what she was saying. Sexy stuff.

And then I got to the climax of this story...oh my god did it annoy me. Some of the women captured along with the heroine found a way to escape this foreign planet and they come to take her with them. The heroine is very confused at this point, not completely sure if she wants to leave, because let's face it, she might not have free will any longer, but come on, a super-sexy alien was giving her massive orgasms every day. Who needs free will when you have that? But that wasn't even really my problem, that's definitely not something unique to this particular story. Most heroines nowadays seem to forget all thought so long as they have a hot man with a big cock. My problem is how the narrator is trying to make the women that want to escape their kidnappers into some kind of villains. Apparently the fact that they came to different planets looking to see if they could find a safe place to live for the remaining inhabitants of Earth is not that different from what her beloved has done to her.

"We haven't done the despicable things they have"

"Yet. To what lengths will we go when we run out of time, especially if faced with extinction?" (Eva)

So let me get this straight, these women should accept being kidnapped, fucked, punished, controlled and bred by aliens? Because, hey you never know, someday humans could do the same. And our heroine had only just found out that her beloved alien and his people had just kidnapped the rest of her 300 strong crew, and it's the humans that are in the wrong? But at the end of the day, the real reason why she decides to leave with the other women, is because she saw Kerr talking (talking!) to another woman. And she was jealous.

She's also a bit selfish, because she doesn't really want to go back to the pain and destruction from Earth, whereas here she is basically a queen. But hey, he talked to that other girl, so what can you do! I'm not going to judge her for this selfishness - I'm sure a vast majority of people would have the same thoughts as her: Stay in a nice place with no wars, little crime, etc. or go back to your people, who are suffering and quickly dying?

At the last moment she decides she wants to stay because she loves Kerr, and hey, it's not that bad since spankings turn her on, and plus, so long as she doesn't say anything wrong, or curses, or wears anything other than dresses, or speaks without being addressed by a male first, or doesn't immediately follow her mate's orders, she has a pretty good life. But, alas, there had to be a conflict, so she's injected or shot with something, can't remember what, but she gets on the ship. And there, again, the humans are somehow made to look like the villains again for daring to save her, because how the fuck would they know that she loved her kidnappers so much??

That scene where she excuses the way that women are treated disgusted me. Here's some snippets of what she tells her fellow humans:

"They also commit to one woman for life"

"(...) to care for her, in loving ways as well as with punishments, if need be. They have a fairly non-violent society - spankings and floggings notwithstanding (...) In many ways, it beats Earth's with our broken homes, fatherless children, violent crime through the roof, and countries constantly at war."

So the fuck what? Does she think that the fact that women have no say-so whatsoever the reason why Earth is dying and these guys are doing better?

"I didn't see a single piece of trash on the street, or a mark of graffiti. There were no tenements, and no homeless on the street either. Of course, that was just the capital city."

If you're so affected by trash and graffitis, then move to Singapore!

After hearing this, one of the other girls concludes:

"It doesn't sound as bad as Eryn lets on. And the men, they were all tall and unbelievably gorgeous. They made my six foot frame seem dainty and feminine. And, is it true that they want sex 2 or 3 times a day?"

"I had a boyfriend a few years back who liked to spank me during sex. It was hot. I think I could adapt."

This is just SO wrong. I'm all for the fantasy. I'm all for the spankings, and the discipline and stuff. But don't try to make it sound like these women have any choice. Don't turn these women into doormats who want this just because their men are super hot and can give them great orgasms.

Back to the story though..

The ship is captured by the aliens again, very quickly. Eva is taken by her man's general, or something of the sort, and he is incredibly angry with her.

"Do you hate him so much that you'd risk both your lives to flee his arms and bed?"

At this point, we find out that Kerr is in critical condition. Apparently mates can't be separated or they wither and die. How fucking convenient that among pages and pages of long ass explanations between the 2 characters about how his world works, how mates work, he forgot to tell her probably THE most important detail. Apparently they can't even be apart for half a day or something and he might die. It was just way too convenient. And the excuse of "we were fucking too much to talk" is really not cutting it. Because I tell ya, they spent a lot of time talking about stuff like this, and we got to read a looooot of it.

That, I could've gotten over, and the ridiculousness of that scene where she's riding his face to get him back to life. But what really annoyed me is how apologetic she was about this! She's considered very much at fault for trying to leave her kidnappers to go back to her people (not that she was actually doing that, because she was too much of a doormat), which I'm okay with, because obviously most captors will be angry if their captive tries to run away. But she is actually in tears, begging to be punished, flogged in the town square, whatever it takes, because what she did was just so horrible. It was disgusting to read. Like women whose husbands cheat on them, and it's somehow their fault that their men couldn't keep it in their pants, and they're the ones who have to fight to get them back at the urgings of family, friends, etc. The way she begged to be punished...uuuugh.

And then Kerr regains his strength, and he's portrayed here as some kind of a hero, apparently, for coming in to save her from the evil council by delivering those lashes himself, and in front of only 4 people. She apologizes profusely, tells him how much she loves him, how she realised how amazing he is, how she really deserves this punishment bla bla bla.

I went back and forth a lot on whether I should hit save on this review or not. I can't help feeling a little bad. But then I realised, this is what this site is for. This is what I felt while reading this book and I think I needed to write this just to get it off my chest, even if no one else reads my review.

I guess my point is this: surely there must be another way to write a science fiction erotica book with this kink without making a mockery of women's struggles and all of the abused women of Earth.

[Pamela Greer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I want my time, money, and stomach back!!

When reading the synopsis of this book I took it for something similar to my beloved Ice Planet Barbarians series with some "spanking" and rough sex play per the description. How can this story read that they hold women precious, while kidnapping them, tying up, and forcing sex. The heroine is shot by a female alien so that the other human women can try to escape. Of course they are caught again, then after she must have an odd voyeuristic "sex??" episode to save the H, the H publicly whips her 40 times with a promise that the alien female will be punished.

What a way to show her she is your "true mate". This is SOOOO far removed from Ice Planet Barbarians, I don't want to waste my time explaining the differences, I'm in such withdrawal waiting for the new book to come out that I allowed myself to get conned into buying this waste of memory.

This is definitely NOT just some spanking between partners that enhances their sex. So many other great books out there, pass this one by!!!

[Fatimama · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fated mates? Check. Hot alien leader? Check. Heroine who makes sense? Check.

Domestic discipline? Noooooo... I’m not too hot reading about all the spanking as a means of discipline (?!) hence I cannot give this book 4 stars. I liked the story minus all the spanking and flogging as I did not find them really sexy in this book

[Summer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes, I read the reviews. Yes, I was aware there was spanking and other domestic dicipline. I went in with open eyes but at every turn shit kept happening that killed my inner feminist. The heroine never once did anything to get back at her alien mate, she just weakly gave in and kept letting him beat her. It just wasn't for me.... maybe a little too soon after the Women's march. I only gave it two stars because I finished it.

[Faith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the synopsis and I should have stopped there. I wish I did.

A group of all female scientists are on a mission to discover a habitable planet for humankind because the earth has been ravaged by war and humans are on the brink of extinction. They land on a new planet and are immediately captured by an alien race, the Primarians. So the Primarians have been searching for a new specie to breed with after a meteor crashed into their planet and rendered their females infertile. Imagine their good fortune when they find the perfect specie had landed on their planet and was theirs for the taking.

The BDSM did not bother me. It was how spineless the heroine (Eva) was and how easily she accepted being kidnapped by an alien race. Not even the Daemon Black kind of aliens, but the archaic, barbaric and domineering type who happened to have advanced technology. I mean, how do you fall for someone who kidnaps you, ties you up and inserts a stupid "fertility" rod inside your vagina within minutes of your capture?

I remember being particularly enraged when Kerr tried to explain their ownership and lordship over the females and compared it with receiving orders in the military. And what does the heroine do? Nothing. Except realize how right he was and how the earth was in chaos and self destructing because women were equal to men.
As in, gender equality results to chaos, war, disease and eventual destruction of the entire planet. Make it make sense please!!

The way Kerr and Eva tried to justify this every other page had me screaming bloody murder. "At least they mate for life here... Our women are not slaves, we protect, cherish and love them... We have big dicks so it's natural that we own you (no one said this, I'm just really pissed)... I'm going to spank you a little when you step out of line, but don't worry, it's not going to bruise and i'll end up fucking you into another galaxy anyway, you won't notice..."

Another thing that bothered me was how quick they were to badmouth the group of scientists that tried to escape. Eva evidently discovers she's in love with Kerr and tries to return but is unable to. They're ship is inevitably recaptured and Eva is rushed off to Kerr's because he's dying. Apparently, fated mates can't be apart for long and he conveniently forgot to mention it to her because you know, they've been screwing like rabbits.

This book will anger you and make you want to hit something. If you don't mind women being described as nothing more than glorified pets with pretty dresses that are subservient to sexist barbarians with huge dicks, this book is perfect for you.

[Moriah · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

Abusing women, then spinning it and calling it love is not my cup of tea.

[Obsessed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars

Domestic discipline/spanking stories aren't usually what I gravitate toward so I was pleasantly surprised. A strong female character that isn't particularly bratty or bitchy. She's definitely not too stupid to live. The hero is an alpha who isn't a total prick and cares about her. Also a win.

This will probably be a reread in the future.

[Jacqueline J · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay but I read this awhile ago and I can't really remember anything about it. So I guess that says something right? Still I know I didn't hate it and since I'm always looking for sci fi romance reads, I would be willing to read more in this series.

[Emily Ever · Rating 1 out of 5]

Total misogynist trash. Like a beginner's Patriarchy manual. Don't bother. See other one star reviews for details, they covered it.

[Louise H's Book Thoughts · Rating 4 out of 5]

A better breed of barbarian than most!

This book is standalone, though the story arc continues in 3 further books. When I first started this book I thought I was going to get the usual 'alien captive' fayre. Yes it had some of those common themes, a patriarchal society, where misbehaving females are spanked, and a civilisation in danger due to lack of fertile women. It also has the women being captured and claimed without any say in the matter, along with the usual tall, handsome aliens.

However this story also offered much more. For starters it was a good length, allowing us time to get to know both main characters, see a relationship/connection develop and also to include a good plot and decent world building. The Barbarian's Captive has a well developed alien world on which a good chunk of the story is set. Additionally there were plenty of supporting characters, several of whom we got to know fairly well. There was plenty of communication/discussion (and arguments) between Eva and Kerr, and whilst it was still a case of 'my word is law', I did feel as though Kerr listened to Eva and wanted her to be happy. Thankfully he didn't presume that he knew best what would make her happy either!

In my mind the author did a good job of demonstrating the connection between Kerr and Eva, being shown their feelings and not just simply told of them. It took a few chapters for me to realise this wasn't going to be like so many others from the genre, so if you try it, do bear that in mind. This is a book I am happy to recommend, especially if you like sci-fi power exchange stories. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series and can't wait to see what happens next!

[Thay · Rating 1 out of 5]

Our heroine Eva is a biologist on an all female expedition to find a viable planet for Earth's population. While planetside on a research mission with 10 other colleagues and guards, they are set upon and captured by a race of loin clothed barbaric beings. Three escape and seven others become captive to this race of men.

I was seriously torn with how I'd rate this because I enjoyed the writing even if I didn't agree on some themes. I would compare reading this to trying to drink water while having hiccups and holding your breath all at once- it's a little annoying, a little discomforting and you wonder why you're even bothered despite it really being a trivial matter.

This book does contain spanking and mild BDSM and although I think the spanking was overly done, it isn't the reason I've given it a one-star rating. What I find absolutely mind boggling is the utter disrespect for the liberty of women in this novel. Sure a little bit of domestic discipline can be sexy if delivered conscientiously between two consenting adults, but I did feel as though there was a little bit of brain washing or Stockholm Syndrome happening. Honestly the Primarians are little better than slave drivers. Trying to justify the withholding of the freedom, liberty and dignity of their female captives through excuses such as 'mating' and 'tradition' is bullshit. Things did turn around at the very end so it wasn't a complete clusterfuck.

Despite this seemingly harsh review, I am going to look into Maddie Taylor's other books because there is something compelling in her style of writing. Read this one at your own risk. You have been warned.

[Natalie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I purchased this when it was on special offer for £0.99, and having now read it, I think I'd feel aggrieved if I'd paid full price. There are grammatical errors throughout which is always quite frustrating to encounter in a published story.
The real issue for me though is the story which deals with a patriarchal society keen on punishment and it really skirts a murky line between consent and non-consent. In fairness, there is a warning about this before the story starts but I'd hoped that as the story progressed, it would be dealt with and examined to reach a resolution that made sense. I have no issue with kink/BDSM, but there are clear moments of abuse that are just explained as being "how the society works" and that's complicated. Our heroine (/"heroine") Eva realises this but her moment of epiphany is swiftly glossed over by her just giving in because her mate is hot and hunky and means well really.
A lot of what occurs is really uncomfortable, not just the consent issues, but the treatment of women generally - everything Eva feels or thinks is pointed out to her as being wrong. Finding the perfect mate should not involve the eradication of a sense of self!
The alien males looking for mates trope can be intriguing and entertaining when done right, consider Ruby Dixon's Ice Planet Barbarians series for example, but overall it's not easy to enjoy a book where every female character is treated so appallingly.

[Meiwilli · Rating 2 out of 5]

What. Was. I. Thinking??

There are no excuses for my behavior reading this book--the author did warn me! I should have known better from the title, yet I was interested in reading another alien paranormal story. The few I read last year were interesting and not so far fetched that I was able to enjoy the author's vivid imagination. The Barbarian's Captive is not one of those reads for me. From page one through the end of the book, womankind is slapped in the face repeatedly and, liking it, comes back for more.

There are no words I can use in this review to describe that I was less than enamored with this story. There is no redemption for Eva, Kerr or his entire species! While I can appreciate Taylor's imagination and attention to detail, the woman I am won't allow me to appreciate or accept this genre. I'm deeply offended. It is "slavery"...short and simple. Obviously I cannot continue this series. On my Were/Alien Scale of Hotness, 1.5 stars.

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[Debta Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book!!!

Maddie Taylor really wrote a good book. Can't wait to read more .
I chose this book because I got hooked in by the second chapter and
Could not put it down . Must-read!!!

[SandyL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eva La Croix is an American scientist on a space mission with 300 other women, looking to find another planet for humans to resettle on, after they've pretty much destroyed earth. They think they've found a possibility, and Eva is one of the initial expedition party. I guess they didn't think about other life that might be there, and Eva and her party are captured by Primarians. Max Kerr, leader of the Primarians, and his team have been in search of women to help repopulate their planet. When they come across the expedition party and find they are similar in appearance to Primarians, they capture the women to see if they are compatible. And yes, they are!! Even better, there are more on a nearby spaceship!! Kerr immediately sets his sights on Eva, and claims her as his own even before it's determined she's an almost perfect match for him. But Eva struggles adjusting to this new society where domestic discipline and dominance are practiced. This was an interesting start to the series. I did enjoy it, although it was hard to warm up to Eva since she was so disagreeable most of the time - understandable, but still annoying. 3.5 stars.

[Natacha Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected this book to be a carbon copy of Ice Planet Barbarians. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the level of depth and world-building this book has to offer. Eva and Kerr both do a great deal of learning, respectively, about each others worlds.

There is plenty of conflict and drama, but can true love truly exist? I also enjoyed the minor characters in this book. They play an important role in helping the two work through their issues. It's angsty, romantic, sensual, and full of conflict. It definitely deserves the 4 stars, and I would recommend it!

[Rosemary · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 43%. The women became slaves. They had to obey or be punished. They could not speak unless spoken to. They were kidnapped and breed with no consent. But, there were orgasms, so it will all be okay. Gross. I don’t get people who like this. I was enraged the entire time.Slavery is just too weird of a kink for me.

[Romaine Heart · Rating 4 out of 5]

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Primarian Mates Box Series

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

Standard fare. I'd love for just one of these to seriously address the myriad of issues with the "barbarian hero" stereotype and take the heroine's concerns seriously instead of just paying lip service to them.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, the theme of this sci-fi, erotic romance is one that I've seen many times throughout the genre. That is, alien race/world going extinct because their females are so few and/or are infertile usually because of some tragic happening in their world. Then, pop-up on the scene, usually discovered by accident, human females who can low and behold mate and produce offspring for said alien race. From that point on, it's usually a tug-of-war of wills between the two sexes/races. Oh, and let's not forget the very alpha society that these poor human women stumble into. The alien males are always a tasty piece of eye candy, but their egos and "chivalry" leave a lot to be desired. In this story, the bdsm that often happens in this sort of genre, is rather mild compared to many, mainly focusing on punitive discipline in the form of spankings. That by itself is okay with me. However, I found it tedious to the extreme when the female is getting spanked every few pages (maybe a slight exaggeration, but seriously a lot!). Even more bothersome and utterly infuriating were the reasons behind the punishments. The poor woman only had to blink her eyes wrong and that was considered disrespect enough to warrant punishment. It seemed the female was treated as some mix between a child and a pet. And of course, neither of these knows what's truly good for them. A moderate taste of this might have been okay, but the story was drowning in this perpetual immature discipline/retaliation for some perceived or actual slight. Neither character appeared to learn much and the change was minimal and mostly done from the female's side for reasons not entirely clear except for primarily great sex with a very endowed, hot male. Apparently, towards the end there was "love" involved. I'm just not sure why and how it came about? The writing itself was good, but the plot/theme definitely needed some polish.

[Nickcole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5

Ok, I really love a good alien romance, but at times I wanted to punch Kerr in the throat. While some good points were made about keeping order, I didn't care that the woman was getting spanked all the time and men can do what they want. At times it was a little fun to read about it, but it felt like everything she did she got spanked for it. The very end when a certain someone got spanked in public, I almost peed myself because it was so well deserved. Overall I did like this book and I would read another book by this author.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just no. It's one thing for a little spanking between consenting adults, it is another thing that it is a punishment for trying to be an equal to your partner. And the justification of "well there are no marks on you" or "well it turned you on" is just bullcrap. This book made me so angry because instead of our "Hero" realizing that there should be compromise between him and the woman he claims to love our spineless heroine decides that these people are right and she should be beaten in the town square for basically no reason.

[Robin Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tall Dark and Alien

I want to be r wally honest for just a second if you don't mind. I was for certain I was wasting my time on another alien style romance. Boy was I a total snobby witch !! My full apology to Ms Maddie Taylor !! From beginning to the very last line, I LOVED THIS FREAKIN EBOOK !!!! The story of Kkerr and Eva was so supercalafragulistic. I'm already on the prowl for # 2. I would give this one 6 stars if I could :<)

[Jessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Good ol' alien erotica trash.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually listened to this book on Audible, but that version was not a choice when I wrote this review.

I had to laugh when I read some pieces of the reviews that others wrote. I am not sure what they expected, but it is apparently not what they got. This book is about an alien race that treats women like they have no purpose in life but to kowtow to their mate and spit out babies. Since there are still cultures on this planet that feel that way I just rolled my eyes and figured at least the sex was good.

Eve and seven other women are captured while they are conducting scientific surveys on a planet they hope might be a place for the remaining population of the earth to relocate to. Apparently, there are very few men left on Earth and those that remain spend most of their fighting wars, go figure. Eva's ship consists of about three hundred females who are searching for an alternative place to live as the earth deteriorates.

Kerr and his fellow warriors are off-world on a hunt when they find the alien females. There planet's population is declining ever since an asteroid broke up and hit it when Kerr was a child. Since that time the birthrates have fallen and couples are matched by their chances of successfully producing offspring. This has evidently caused the men to lose the part of their brains that allows them to see women as equal to them. Instead, they are protected and punished if they happen to have a stray intelligent thought. The punishment normally consists of having their bottoms spanked, and they are not allowed to be harmed. The Primarians mate for life.

Of course, Eva is not of a mind to follow some man's orders just because he claims he is her mate. Whatever. She might not like the punishments she gets, but she does like the sex and there is lots of that to be had. She mainly seems to be concerned that the mate bond has not manifested itself in her like it has most of her fellow abductees. Kerr does not seem to be bothered by this, but it makes her feel inferior and afraid that he will eventually replace her. This is going to get her all kinds of trouble.

I was given a copy of this audiobook by the author. My review is voluntary.

[Mme Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

This deserves no stars. Dnfed@16%. Dear God. I dont mean to yuck someone else's yum, but there is no redemption for this word casserole trying to pass as a book. Brace yourselves. This is a long rant.

The worst part is that the victim enjoying the r*pe because her aggressor is drop-dead gorgeous wasn't the worst of it. Now hear me out.
The dear barbarian (already forgot his name...) tex? Rex? Something of the sort... is manipulative AF. And the heroine (no name comes to mind) who's supposed to be this badass, insanely smart scientist has the IQ of an illiterate drunk sea sponge.
Here's where I dnfed. The drunk sea sponge didn't even need to be gaslit by the leader hairy imp r*pist. Because according to her, equality between men and women doesn't work and it didn't better society because (this is important because her last 2 neurons worked REALLY HARD on this) there is still crime and war. You heard that right. Crime and war mean women being equal to men is obsolete and useless. Hence, she accepted being beneath the hunky monkey.

Then comes the physical violence. Spanking over and over a grown ass adult as a form of punishment is not considered physical violence. Why would the hunky monkey utter that? Because spanking doesn't leave a trace, and because he rubs after hitting like 12 times with all his might and (this is the most important part), he could do much worse. Yes. Spanking with most of his force is not considered physical violence because he can be much more violent physically.

That was my limit. No redemption for this... i won't even call it a book. This... word melting pot. I'm glad it was free on Kindle because aside from a few neurons, it cost me nothing.

[Emily Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

So glad I didn't let the negative reviews put me off, I had trouble putting it down! At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to get into it, there is a limit to the male oppressive/female submissive gotta save my species kind of books that I can take. I read some reviews and wasn't sure I'd like it but decided to give it a shot, and I am so glad I did! The story had action, suspense, and emotionally gripping scenes. The characters grew, which is really what I want to read in a story, and they faced adversity but got through it. It held my interest right from the beginning and the discipline scenes weren't as awful as I was led to believe by some reviews. There was no public humiliation, and the women were not injured. I mean, yeah, you want the women to be the Amazons that you'd think a ship full of women could be, but in reality, they come off as just people trying to save their own society too. There was an element of the danger posed by the purists and a jealous woman, and I thought they should have resolved that way more harshly than it was, but it just added spice to an already fascinating new world. It's a great start to a new series that I"m now dying to dig into. I received a free copy on Prolific works, but it's also available on the KU program, so I'm ready to jump into book two today!

[Pat Laughner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wasn't expecting it to be so good!

Maddie Taylor is a new author for me, this being the first book of hers that I have read. I totally enjoyed the storyline. Captured and held captive by an alien people on their planet world. MEN RULE.... I could understand Eva's feelings and having to bend to Kerr's demand that she submit, and do as she is told, how she must behave as well as when to speak for the most part. Yea, I know it's a different planet with a different way of life... In my mind I kept saying nope... not my planet, not my rules. Being respectful when on a new world, absolutely. To be taken as a mate by an alien you don't know anything about?
I rode the rollar coaster with Eva and Kerr in their story. This is an AWESOME read. The story itself was fleshed out and you sort of felt you were there. The world building was pretty good too. I loved how Zalina got what she had coming! ONIONS... who knew!!! Lol
Get it and read to find out. Definitely a treasure of a read.
ENJOY... I did 😊