Enslave Me Sweetly

Alien Huntress #2

by Gena Showalter

Eden Black walks among humans, protecting them from the murderous evil of other-worlders who abduct and enslave. And though she appears to be human herself, Eden is an alien, a Raka, distinguished by her golden hair and skin, and gifted with the ominous ability to kill without remorse—and with total accuracy. That is, until the fateful night she has one shot to eliminate her target, a human slaver—and misses.

"Failure" is not in Eden's vocabulary. Neither is "partner"—but that's what she is forcibly assigned after recovering from her disastrous mission. A sexy, steely-nerved human agent, Lucius Adaire enjoys nothing more than sparking the fury—and rousing the desire—of the fiery female assassin too proud to admit defeat. Locked in an assignment they cannot afford to lose, Lucius and Eden find themselves bound in two high-stakes, heart-pounding games: the sensual web of kill or be killed, and the erotic dance of seduction.

Genres: Paranormal Romance, Romance, Paranormal, Aliens, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

309 pages, Trade Paperback

First published June 6, 2006

About the author

Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of over seventy books, including the acclaimed Lords of the Underworld series, the Gods of War series, the White Rabbit Chronicles, and the Forest of Good and Evil series. She writes sizzling paranormal romance, heartwarming contemporary romance, and unputdownable young adult novels, and lives in Oklahoma City with her family and menagerie of dogs and cats.

Reviews

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

The Alien Huntress world is interesting. The issues 'other-worlders' face are really bad, but some also deserve to be dead.
Enter Eden Black, an assassin from the race nobody would expect to be anything but pretty. The Raka are peaceful as you can get, but there aren't many of them left because they are hunted for their golden skin and hair. Eden and Lucius are after a slaver who specialises in kidnapping, rapes, tortures.

Eden is of the let-me-show-you-how-tough-I-am-by-hitting/insulting-you variety. God, she was beyond annoying at first. I can't say much about Lucius Adaire since the story is told from Eden's point-of-view so Lucius ended up being hot and tough. His teeth grinding didn't help either.

There were some things that weren't well thought through. Eden concludes that one of the characters who helps her is an honourable man. I have no idea why she would think that since the guy helps his for his own amusement. I think he even gets his own book later in the series. Weird, that.

Not a bad story overall, but I think I would have liked it more if I'd read it when I first started reading paranormal romances.

[Ronda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woah!!! This book was fantastic, a different slant to the first, kind of like a continuation that A.I.R. is still going on but there are other things going on in the sidelines...

Eden Black, our Golden Raka, is the adopted daughter to Michael. Eden is on a job (not with A.I.R.)and miscalculates her kill, Michael then forces her to take a partner with her. Welcome Lucius Adaire - oh yes I say welcome with a smile. He is human and just all man, he also agrees with Eden, he doesn't need a partner either...

You can see where that storyline is heading and head that way it does but the book's main plots are fabulous, they are written to grab your attention, there is sadness, laughter and lots of edgy worries.

I love Gena Showalter regardless, her LOTU books made me breathless, and she has done it again with these books, wow!

Another book I truly loved... I am told that the next two books are the Young Alien Huntress books and that they fit in right after this before continuing with these. So I'm going to head that way!!

[Carmen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just can't deal with this.

ZERO REAL STARS, ZERO ROMANCE STARS

[Tamye Whitener · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another awesome book by Gena Showalter.

In case you didn't get the point from the 5 stars and the "Awesome book", I love this book. From the first page to the last I was enthralled. The characters are great. I don't mean, Eden is a sweetheart, unless you consider someone who can kill in the blink of an eye and with no remorse, sweet. But she does have her own value system. She kills to protect humans. Kind of like taking out the garbage.

After a bad op, where Eden's target gets away, and she gets shot up pretty bad, her boss makes her work with a partner. She thinks it's because she failed her last mission, but there is more to it then she knows. Her new partner is Lucius Adaire or Agent Luscious as Eden likes to call him, especially in front of other agents. These two have some highly combustible chemistry which keeps them on their twos and a few other positions. The two agents are highly competitive, extremely competent, and total badasses. They both have other traits that make them relatable and loveable in an "I can kill you twenty different ways with only a block of cheese" way.

Action-packed, with lots of steamy moments, high tension, adrenalin-packed moments, slave auctions, bargaining, explosions, shooting, knife-wielding, and kissing kept me turning the pages into the wee hours of the night. I hated that the book ended because I wanted to spend more time with Eden "Cookie" and Lucius "Luscious".

This is the second book in the Alien Huntress series. I haven't read the first book in the series and had no problems due to reading out of sequence. I feel this book stands alone just fine. But for those sticklers, go ahead and book one first. I know I'm going to go get book one, so I can read it too. I can't wait to see what happens in it.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a wonderfully written story. paranormal romance, sci-fi romance. Assassins that protect the innocent, or a good action-adventure romance.

[alicat ♡➹♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read about two really intense people who go from dislike to love. They are both badass agents/spies/assassins and are forced to work together by the heroine, Eden's, father. They have crazy sexual intensity to match all the other intensity of their personalities.

The world Showalter has created is dark and disturbing (people want to flay off Eden's golden skin to sell, yetch! plus slaves, aliens have very few rights, etc.). Still, Lucius and Eden are the good guys who are willing to risk themselves to help out the defenseless. Eden in particular is completely stubborn and unrelenting in her goals which works out well with threatening and harassing her "master" into helping her

I kind of wish the two had more scenes together - they are both working separate angles of a job, but overall entertaining!

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, let me say how much I loved the world that the author built. Very cool. I hope I can read more of Showalter's Alien Huntress series. The plot was fast-paced and extremely fun with some nice little steamy scenes thrown in for good measure.
The reason I didn't rate it any higher than I did was because the writing seemed clunky. Really clunky. I know the author writes several series, so maybe she's just churning them out a little too fast? I'm not sure, but there were several times that I looked up from the pages and wondered how in the world I was enjoying such a badly written book so much. I know that doesn't make any sense, but it's true.

[Sophie (lambsbooks)]

She called herself "not like other girls" and used the word "sensual" twice to describe herself in the same paragraph.

I can't.

[Hbeebti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this one better than the first. Something hit home for me on this one. Lucius was HOT!! That man was a jerk but he was so possessive of Eden , how can you not love that?. Their banter back and forth was truly funny. New characters were introduced and I have to say that I wanted to hate Delvyn in the beginning but at the end I loved him . Hope that there is more of him later in the series . Another great book.

[Zeek · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title and picture on the cover is kinda a misnomer- you'd think this is one of those books about kink but isnt. It's better.

The heroine is an alien raised by a human who hunts alien baddies.

Attempting to prove herself to the man who raised her as daughter, she really wants to catch the off worlder sex trafficker who is capturing females- human and alien- and selling them to the highest bidder.

In her first attempt, she failed...bigtime. Desperatly wanting to make up for it, she talks her father into letting her try again and he agrees...if she takes on a partner. Extrememly reluctant to have the big dude her father sics on her trailing her around, she fights it tooth and nail.

The big dude aint too happy about it either, but they need each other to complete the sting. Imagine their surprise when they find out they are more than either supposed and- they make a good team.

Plus. The sexual attraction. Whew, some hot stuff there.

I really liked this one and can recommned both this one and the first in the series to anyone who enjoys Paranormal Romance.

[~*~Princess Nya Vasiliev~*~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay.. This book is awesome! I was laughing the entire time while reading this one. But the story has a dept to it as well. The plot, the characters, everything was well written and well put together. I was actually in suspense the last 5 chapters of this one. The Targon King, Devyn, okay Cynthia and Leah, YES HE'S FINE!!! But he was such a Bastard! But the King, U can't help but love. He grows on U immediately. JERK MONKEY! But Lucious and Eden are my Couple. Lucious is my dude.. U really believed that they loved each other and there was nothing they would not do to ensure the other's safety and well being. Her relationship with her adoptive Father was very well written and emotionally deep. I don't know how I would have dealt with what she and he had to deal with towards the end of this book. This among other things kinda made me tear up. Read this book. It's really well worth the time.

[Monty Cupcake ☠ Queen of Bloodshed ☠ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm probably rating this too highly, but the first one in this series just sucked so bad that this one not totally sucking seems amazing. And I really like female assassins in books.

[Circuit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where do I begin: I think let me explain my gracious rating (3 stars). I don't think the rating of: 1.I don't like it, 2. it was ok, 3. I like it, 4. I really like it, and 5. It was amazing expresses my true attitude. My rating is:
5 stars – I was sorry it ended, wanted more. What will I read now?
4 stars – It was quite good. It lacked something or other.
3 stars – It was readable but not entirely good. However better than the two below
2 stars – WTF? Aghh. I wish bad things upon its characters in other words “Born of Night”. Yet, not as horrific as 1 star
1 star – I am all ready for a cleansing book burning. I got some gasoline and matches i.e. “Just my luck”

So see the only reason this one has 3 stars is because it’s not as bad as the other two. It would have been 2 1/3 or 2 1/2, but I don’t know how to do that so I reluctantly allowed the upgrade. I almost gave it a 2, beacsue I did wish bad things to its characters.

The Good: It got better by the end, because I almost gave up.
The Bad: Here is my quick list (I’m all about the lists today)
1. The alien races. Gena just throws made-up names at us like rice at a wedding. It’s all about the quantity not the quality. She just never says much about them beyond a sentence or two. It would benefit the writing if she created maybe between 4 -7 and gave us a bit more. Made them a nice background that would increase the sci-fi factor. She doesn’t. Sometimes less is just more. This tidbit is overshadowed by other more annoying issues. Some people rant how great the world she created is. Seriously! There is no creation. There is only a undeveloped idea that has potential, but never really evolved.
2. After I read the first book the issue that bothered me the most was the senselessness of events. They were just stupid. This one I admit is better, but there are still events that just baffle any logical person. I have the impression that the author adds things to progress the romance even if it makes no sense. Like the back story that supposed to bind this book together is a smoke screen. She just adds events and situations that don’t work. She did that with the enslavement (Mrs. Showalter seems to be keen on that) in the first book and she does it again. Ofcoarse I say it’s not atrocious as the first time, because I was willing to assume I understand in this book, which I could not even attempt before. Even without sense are for example: The part when Eden and her new-found “love” go from a secure location of Eden’s father’s facility to unsecure woods to talk. It’s obvious that she does this idiotic thing just to have the two characters alone even if it’s stupid. Another one: Sure why not. Lucius sneaking into Eden’s room at an ambassador house. I mean you’d expect the ambassador’s house to be better protected. Apparently people come and go as they please and make as much noise as they wish. Once again it’s an unimaginative way to get the characters alone (aka stupid).
3. This is what bothered me the most: The Romance/Love. It was bad in the first book and even worst in this. Here is the author’s recipe: One mucho man or shall I say talking meet piece with a dick. One childhood troubled female that constantly has to convince herself she is tough and needs validation. They fall in love from the beginning. There is no relationship build up. Instant attraction while the protagonist chastises herself that she cannot go down that road but what can she do when hormones are raging. Poor thing. Here is a quote “I’d never craved a man like I craved him. You don’t like him, remember?” If you get the gist, multiply it by a hundred. She did the same thing in book one.

The author constantly wants to sell us Eden’s toughness. Here is a hint: Don’t tell us a thousand times and I might believe it. See the funny thing about though woman is that they don’t think about proving themselves all the time, don’t seek validation and praise like a starved puppy and don’t behave like a naïve teenager after knowing a guy for what was it 3 weeks (while 2 were in a comma). It makes them look pathetic. Mia was pathetic; Eden is a bit better, but not by much.

The male is …well I think I nailed it before. There is nothing more to add. Really…he’s that simple.

Oh did I mention the Eden saves a dog. The author is saying: “See…she is the good guy, Like her!”. :{ (there is no other point to this except of gauging an emotional response. Very crude)

The love between the two is founded on mutual attraction, nothing more and drips with superficiality. Horrible.

I did hope that Gina could save the book. All she had to do was make Lucius a double agent. Why not stepping away from the expected and surprise the reader. Why not make him the liar and Eden fooled. I mean she trusted him on sex alone. She should know better, but as much as the author writes all about strength, the cave in ending is proof that the author has no balls.

Side note: I started the next one. You ask why? That’s a good question. Let me explain. I want to see how many times this author can sell us the same romance. I give you a hint: I’m on page 30. Here is the tally: Enslavement – check. Immediate attraction- check (No build up. No in depth value.) A tough female with a difficult life chastising herself for the attraction and in need of superficial love – check. I smell a repeat.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enslave Me Sweetly is the second book in Gena Showalter's fantastic Alien Huntress series. Set in the same futuristic world as Awaken Me Darkly, this story takes part in a different area of the United States and within a different government organization, so it is able to stand on its own. Eden Black is an assassin for a company owned by her adoptive father, Michael, that operates even farther outside of the law than A.I.R. The government turns to Michael's company when they need an alien assassinated "accidentally." Eden is one of Michael's top operatives. When she is sent after a slave trader and fails to kill him, Eden is crushed. What's worse is that her father assigns her a partner - sexy, smoldering, stubborn Lucious Adaire. It's clearly a sign that her father no longer trusts her to get the job done, and Eden is determined to prove her worth. But the farther along they get in this case, the closer Eden and Lucious become . . . and their priorities are no longer quite so defined.

I didn't like this story quite as much as the first one, but that was probably because I expected (through no one's fault but my own) to read about someone connected to Mia and her A.I.R. team. However, Eden and Lucious were both fantastic characters. I also really enjoyed the first person point of view, same as in the first book, because it allows the reader to better get into the main character's head without outside input. I think it allows for a much greater level of suspense, because if the MC doesn't know what's going on, then you don't either. Another great aspect of this book is that it furthers the mythology of the series, and we gain a greater understanding of the world the series is set in. The world-building was well-balanced against the general plot, so it was neither over- or under-whelming. Many authors seem to have a tough time handling that balance, so this was a pleasant surprise. The secondary characters were all multi-dimensional, another pleasant surprise. I have read two of Showalter's other series (Intertwined and Tales of an Extraordinary Girl), and she excels in whatever she writes. Can't wait to start on the next installment!

4.5 stars

http://amandasbooksandmore.blogspot.com/

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enslave Me Sweetly
4 Stars

Eden Black, an alien assassin renowned for never missing a target, discovers to her chagrin that there is always a first time. Forced to work with a human partner, Lucius Adaire, Eden is determined to put a stop to the trafficking ring selling humans as slaves to otherworlders. However, as Eden and Lucius go undercover and their attraction skyrockets, their mission takes a turn for the worse and they will have to utilize all of their skills and abilities to succeed before it is too late…

Series note: Although this is book #2 in the Alien Huntress series, it can be read as a standalone as the plot and characters are unconnected to the first book.

Eden and Lucius are an engaging couple with explosive chemistry. Nevertheless, the book suffers from the 1st person POV as readers are inundated with Eden’s insecurities, which get old after a while, and Lucius’s thoughts and emotions are missing. Moreover, he comes across as more of a beta hero that I would like.

The world that Showalter has created is very compelling with the various races and their reasons for being on Earth. The human trafficking plot is a unique variant of a familiar theme and there are some interesting twists and turns, as well as a surprise revelation at the end. The secondary characters are also intriguing, especially Devyn who is obviously a bad boy in need of redemption (one of my favorite hero types) and I eagerly await learning more about him when his book comes along.

In sum, although Enslave Me Sweetly did not make as much of an impact as book #1, the story is action packed and entertaining, and the romance is sweet and spicy. The audiobook is superbly read by Justine Eyre and I already have book #3 lined up.

[Francesca the Fierce (Under the Covers Book Blog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did, specially after the first book in the series was ok to me, but I loved this one. Where can I start, the characters were amazing. Eden Back is an otherworlder that has been raised on Earth. Her skin, eyes and hair are gold. And she's an assassin of otherworlder criminals. She is then partnered against her will with Lucius, a human very hot alpha male to kill her target EenLi, an otherworlder who is kidnapping human women (mostly) and auctioning them off as slaves to be taken to other planets. And on a side note, I liked Targon also in the end.

The actual story was very well put together, with lots of twists an turns, which I won't mention because I don't want to give anything away. As with the other book, we learn about different kinds of otherworlders, we get a lot of action, in a secret-agent kind of way, but I actually liked that this was not a member of AIR but an independent assassin mission, less bureaucracy.

And lets not forget that there's also romance in this book! Eden and Lucius chemistry was just explosive! *fans self* Just one word for it, HOT!

[Gwen (The Gwendolyn Reading Method) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a huge Gena Showalter fan. The first book in this series I liked well enough, but this one I couldn't get into. I have a high tolerance for schlock and improbability, but maybe I'm getting old. People getting blown practically to bits and then getting out of bed after 12 hours and a full month less than the doctor ordered and just "pushing through it" make me want to scream THAT JUST MAKES A CONCUSSION WORSE, IDIOT! Which just ruins the romance because I'm imaging their potential future children being left orphans in about 20 years or so when both parents succumb to brain disease. Told you I'm getting old...

[Samantha Mullins · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was great I loved how they both tried to refuse each other, but ended up getting further into each other's hearts. Hot erotic scenes, actions scenes could've been a little better but I could handle it.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please don't take the amount of time it took me to read this book as a sign of it being bad. I've been in a serious book funk. It doesn't happen often, but right now I'm just not feeling it and I'm starting to fall behind in my Reading Challenge. In related news, my mental health issues are flaring up again. Boo!

I don't have anything to add to my original review, so I'm recycling the review I posted when I initially read Enslave Me Sweetly eight years ago.

Original review: I really wish Goodreads had a half star rating system. If so, I'd give Enslave Me Sweetly 3 1/2 stars. I absolutely love Gena Showalter. I have found myself engrossed in five different series by her and that is rare.

The Alien Huntress series takes place in a futuristic world, where aliens live and are somewhat accepted. The A.I.R. is a division of the government set up to remove rogue aliens. Though mentioned, the characters in this book were not part of the A.I.R., but kinda a black-ops division.

I don't normally read sci-fi, but because I enjoy Gena's work so much, I decided to give this series a try. I thoroughly enjoyed Awaken My Darkly, the first book in the series, primarily because I loved the main character, Mia Snow. I found myself disappointed that Enslave Me Sweetly didn't have Mia in it at all and though it took place in the same world, the characters from EMS weren't mentioned. I felt this book was kinda filler until I started reading the third book Savor My Slowly and the characters from EMS were involved and needed.

Though I liked Eden and Lucius, the main characters in this book, the best part was a secondary character named Devyn who happens to be the Targon king and considers himself the Gods best gift to women. Even though he has an ego the size of Texas and can be a complete ass, I loved him. I am pleased to know that book 4, Seduce the Darkness is about him. Can't wait to get to it.

As I said before, I don't normally read sci-fi. I love sci-fi movies and TV programs, but have always had a problem reading the books. I prefer urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and horror. That being said, I still enjoyed Enslave Me Sweetly; 3 stars just doesn't do it justice, but it certainly doesn't deserve a 4 star rating either.

If you really enjoyed the first book and felt the same way about this one, I suggest you continue on with the series; the third book in the series is much better.

[Alicia]

Look, the cover basically lets you know there will be smut in here (It is meant to represent a kidnapping; no kink in here). But it comes about so freaking weird. They make a bet about who’s better at their job and the winner gets a sexual favour. So bizarre. For all their protestations of hating each other, it sure jumps there immediately. And they’re barely even in the same room with each other for the entirety of the book. And then she’s all supposedly in love with him and trading help for sexual favours with another dude. And we’re supposed to like this other guy who buys her as a slave and constantly threatens to rape her but it overlooks the fact he buys slaves and keeps a harem of captures because apparently he’s going to stay in the series so we just overlook all that and never mention or morally question his role in everything. Um, what the sigma?
This book is very casual with rape in general, and for a battle scarred, hard core assassin, I really wish she’d actual kill people. Anything she does do is casually mentioned in a sentence and never spoken of again. There’s no development of anything in here, it’s all very instant gratification and insta lust.
I’m so glad I accidentally read book three before this one, because this book is trash and would have been the point I gave up on the series if I didn’t already know it improves.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

He leído libros sobre violaciones, secuestros, asesinatos... pero éste me daba como cosita cuando leía las partes referentes a los secuestros.

No me agradó que ella desde el primer contacto que tuvieron ya estaba mojada por él aunque lo odiara. Fue la misma fórmula aplicada con el libro anterior.

Fue un libro entretenido y fácil de leer.

Tengo dudas:
¿Por qué era la señora esa amante de los extraterrestres entonces? No explicaron nada sobre eso
La verdad, esa mujer se me hacía sospechosísisma. Yo creía que ella vio por las fulanas cámaras del cuarto que Eden y Lucius tenían sexo por las nochecitas, se lo contó a Jonathan, y ahí ellos la venderían al .... olvidé su nombre, pero al extraterrestre-vende-humanas.
Quizás trató darle un giro inesperado a la trama, pero yo en esa mujer no confiaba en lo más mínimo. Además, la insistencia extraña xq Eden se quedará a vivir en su casa... no sé.

Por último, me alegro que el rey de ¿targot? no fuera un imbécil y terminara ayudando a Eden

[Greyson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️ I liked the FMC of this book already WAY more than the first one. She hates certain aliens because of their actions, not for the sake of them being aliens, and I respect that.
Granted, she herself is an alien but she was raised in a very human world which opened up opportunities for her to be just as bigoted as the character from book one and that already rings way better.
This book was way better! And although it sounds like a wild thing to want, I wanted the MCs to spend more time actually enslaved and getting free. I still had a pretty good time with this book though. The end felt a bit rushed and unresolved but still an okay read.

[cobie · Rating 4 out of 5]

i’m sorry but lucius real name KILLED ME that’s so unserious and a perfect ending imo

[Titania Remakes the World · Rating 4 out of 5]

Juicy, hot, steamy romance, with good quality crime drama going on too. Really enjoyed it. It has a lot of steamy action & crime drama action, similar to Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, which I really enjoy, but monogamous. I'd re-read again. I'm reading the series and so far, they've all been good.

What I'd love to have happen: Would love to have the series continue with the characters, or group of friends. Or more in-depth followups, with great romance action and also crime drama action. Or breakups & really dramatic suffering and makeups. Yeah.

[Michelle Greathouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enslave Me Sweetly is the second book in the Alien Huntress series by Gena Showalter and a novel of Fiction from DownTown Press.

Book Blurb:

Cold-Blooded Assassin
Hot-Blooded Passion...
Eden Black Always Gets Her Man.

Eden Black walks among humans, protecting them from the murderous evil of other-worlders who abduct and enslave. And though she appears to be human herself, Eden is an alien, a Raka, distinguished by her golden hair and skin, and gifted with the ominous ability to kill without remorse -- and with total accuracy. That is, until the fateful night she has one shot to eliminate her target, a human slaver -- and misses.

"Failure" is not in Eden's vocabulary. Neither is "partner" -- but that's what she is forcibly assigned after recovering from her disastrous mission. A sexy, steely-nerved human agent, Lucius Adaire enjoys nothing more than sparking the fury -- and rousing the desire -- of the fiery female assassin too proud to admit defeat. Locked in an assignment they cannot afford to lose, Lucius and Eden find themselves bound in two high-stakes, heart-pounding games: the sensual web of kill or be killed, and the erotic dance of seduction.

My thoughts:

Eden Black was left an orphan the night her parents were murdered. Adopted by Michael Black - Eden never lacked for anything - and she became a spoiled princess.

Though her father loved her without measure - Eden realized that he genuinely respected the men that worked for and with him - Eden yearned for that respect for herself.

Now Eden is a trained assassin - it is her job to stop other-worlders who would harm humans. Her current assignment is to kill an other-worlder who is abducting and selling humans off-world. But the mission goes awry.

Eden is now partnered with a human - Lucius Adaire - and she is not happy. But her father - who also happens to be her boss - says it’s a partner or Eden is fired.

Frustrated beyond belief, Eden agrees to partner with Lucius - or as she calls him, Agent Luscious. Now if only she could get her mind out of the gutter long enough to complete her assignment.

I completely enjoy Ms. Showalter’s writing - no matter the series I’m reading. :)

Enslave Me Sweetly has plenty of action, a great deal of sexual tension and that HEA we all love. :)

I give Enslave Me Sweetly 4 out of 5 stars.

M

[maricar · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as paranormal romances go, Showalter definitely used a lot of imagination for this series... (it would be promptly obvious that I haven't read the first installment. So there.)

The fact that this story is not another one of those vampire-romances (are we done with those, yet?) warrants a semblance of appreciation for its attempt to be ingenious in matters of plot.

Plus, the sexual tension between the couple is at a healthy level. That's good enough for me if a quick, entertaining romance read is what I'm after. I needn't worry that I might just stumble upon a mindless sexfest as 'erotica' seems to be a common word used in relation to Showalter's novels. There's actually a decent endeavor by the author to provide suspense, action, and humor outside the confines of the bedroom.

The only niggling thing I can't shake off is the fact that the heroine has GOLD skin.

Since one of my pet peeves is anything related to glitter (it really really annoys the hell out of me), and I can't seem to find any other way but to imagine Eden Black as having head-to-toe skin that up close looks like the slightly rough/corroded surface of glued-on gold glitter, I kept thinking half the time that I'd rather she has cute horns on her forehead or a demonlike tail or something along those lines. Anything but the apparently-sexy gold skin.

Eh, well, that's my problem.

Near the end of the story, too, the hero Lucius lost a bit of his 'wow' factor what with being held captive and all and our glittery heroine being left to do the rescuing. Something about that just didn't quite satisfy me... (although that encounter with that Devyn fellow was quite yummy...)

Oh, yeah, and another thing (I know I said only one niggling thing but it seems I'm on my trolling state), some aspects of Eden's behavior were a bit annoying. She's bad-ass and all, good for her, but that streak of over-competitiveness just put me off at times. And there's a dash of the brat in her, as well. But hey, with other readers it might just be nothing more than her having a strong, independent will...

Anyway, all-in-all, not a bad read. Didn't really egg me on to lust after the next installment, but neither am I regretting reading it.

Three and 1/2 not gold stars...

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was just as good as the first book if not better in my opinion. It's set in the same world as Awaken Me Darkly, but moves from New Chicago to New Dallas with a whole new group of bad guy fighters. This time the heroine is an alien herself though she was born on earth and adopted by a human man.

Eden, contrary to her alien race, is a tough assassin and fighter doing what she can to keep people safe from aliens who seek to exploit them. Eden has been tasked to break a slave ring. Her first attempt fails so her boss aka dad now insists on a partner to help her complete her assignment. The partners don't settle in peaceably and seek to get the job done on their own term. Lucien rattles Eden's cage in more ways that one. As she seeks to best him to finish the mission and deal with the slave ring alien, she is also struggling to focus on the mission and not her attraction to Lucien. The two learn quickly that they both have something to offer to the job and soon learn that they have to work together if they are to succeed. Danger lurks for both of them as the infiltrate the slave ring and they set Eden up as a potential purchase for the slave ring. Their carefully laid plans backfire and it is only then that Eden realizes what Lucien means to her.

I enjoyed the dynamics of the relationship between Eden and Lucien. There is a huge growth arc in this one as Eden must move past being the girl who must always prove herself to the girl who puts the mission before her own ambition. There are a few startling revelations in the end, but always the danger from the mission and tension from the relationship. It was all good stuff.

I look forward to continuing on with this series and now have another couple that I want to see more of. This book should probably be read in order because the first book offers more description regarding the world building, but it could be read out of order in a pinch. Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance lovers would probably enjoy this futuristic sci-fi romance series.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first Alien Huntress book a good while back so when I decided to pick the series up again, it took a little bit for me to remember the universe Ms. Showalter has created. I'm pleased to say though that this installment (as a vast majority of her books) did not disappoint.

Enslave Me Sweetly focuses on Eden, an Earth-born Raka who works as a small-time assassin for the government. With golden skin and hair, she's basically a walking hunk of money so loads of people seem to want a piece of her (and I mean that both literally and figuratively). Including her new partner Lucious. Ooh la la!

Eden and Lucious' chemistry is instantaneous and endlessly entertaining, both their arguments and their... dalliances are equally enthralling. Lucious's tough exterior seems to fall apart a little too quickly for my tastes in this book, though Eden remains pretty consistent throughout the book.

The plot is interesting, though a little halting. Despite the fact that the things going on are significant enough to be worth government involvement, Eden and Lucious seem to have no real difficulty in playing super-spies. While it made for a smooth transition from "everyone's fine" into "oh shit" mode, it was just convenient enough for me to roll my eyes a bit. Things come together nicely in the end though, which placated me somewhat.

Altogether another well-written and interesting read. I'll definitely be picking up the next Alien Huntress book :]

[Benita Vehnom Ruiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phineas Gaylord Hargrove and Eden Fucking Black lol great names. Gena Showalter has done it again, I have to say that I love this book better then the first. I love the heroine Eden, she's a kick ass female who gets what she wants and I love that about her. Now to the good part Mr. Oh so sexy Lucius, what can I say about him expect he's hot? No that doesn't sum him up, Lucius is a kick ass take no names guy and I fell in love with him from the beginning. Love the relationship between him and Eden. There were times in the book when I wanted to tell them shut up and just get naked but hey lol. Eden Black is an Assassin who works for her adopted father, Michael Black. Not only is she an assassin but she's an alien assassin at that. Eden is partnered up with Lucious Adaire who is an incredibly sexy, strong, human who also works as an assassin. Together they work to try and kill an other-worlders who abduct and enslave humans. This is a great read and I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a great read with lots of action and romance.

Favorite Quote

“Definitely. Tell me again about the Targon. I didn’t like the way he looked at you during your auction, and I still don’t like that he actually had his lips on you. I’m thinking he’ll be our first target.”

“Don’t you fucking dare look away,” he uttered gutturally, having realized my intent.Watch me. See me. Know me. ”

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend you read the first book in the series, Awaken Me Darkly before reading this book. However, the back story on Eden and the character development were so thoroughly detailed, that this story was complete enough to be a stand alone. I really enjoyed this book and read it all in one day. This series didn't take long to worm its way into being one of my favorite series. This installment started off a bit slow. In the beginning Eden and Lucius seemed to be doing more romancing than investigating. However, it didn't take long for the story to start to accelerate; once it picked up speed, it was so good I didn't want it to end. Eden and Lucius have great chemistry. There was plenty of action, otherworldly-creativity and twists and turns seem to be around every corner. Don't let the title fool you, this isn't entirely a romance. For those urban fantasy readers on the fence about this series, take the plunge. This series is cleverly done and the heroines are tough and brave. I highly recommend this book and series to dark urban fantasy readers; and I can not wait to read the next book in series, Savor Me Slowly.
I also recommend:
Angels' Blood
Mark of the Demon
Storm Born (Dark Swan, Book 1)
Darkfever (Fever Series, Book 1)
They Call Me Death

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read

His lips stretched to a full, anticipatory grin. “Agreed. But get ready, cookie.” He lifted up, getting so close I felt the warmth of his breath on my face. “I want your mouth all over me.”

Oh my, Lucius Adaire you sexy man, I want to nibble on you and do other naughty things.

Loved this book, the heroine Eden Black was a kick-ass alien and didn't take shit from anyone. She's determined to stop another alien who is kidnapping humans and selling them as slaves to other-worlders. Her first attempt she completely screws up and gets severely injured so she is assigned a partner for her second and last attempt...Lucius, a human male who oozes sex appeal. They do not hit it off straight away which only bumps the sexual tension up several notches.

You can always count on Gena Showalter to deliver a sexy, passionate romance with a dose of action and humor. Another great addition to her huge collection of works.