Her Forsaken Prince

by Maya Hughes

Freed from slavery and brutality, Xan D'Arian earns a place on Sloan's crew. He pledges to protect her with his life. After all, he has nothing to return home to as the last surviving heir of a murdered planet. With his ability to show her new worlds, Sloan wants to ignore her policy on fraternizing with the crew. The discovery that someone close to Xan planned his abduction leads the two on a race against time. They must destroy their enemies, who want to keep them apart, before it's too late.

Genres: Romance

182 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 25, 2017

About the author

Maya Hughes is an Amazon Top 20 author of swoon worthy, laugh out loud, and emotional new adult and contemporary romances.

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Reviews

[Marta Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half
My first book by this author who I've discovered through kindle scout. If blunt it's not the longest book I've read but the author does manage to tell a convincing sci fi romance about two very interesting characters.
Sloan is a woman who understands the sheer hell that Xan has been through and I really enjoyed their interactions and the way they grew to trust each other. Xan is perhaps a little too naive at times and frankly I thought he should have taken off his rose coloured spectacles because something was very obvious which meant the big reveal at the end felt tired and superfluous. Yes he's been abused and beaten down but honestly I just wanted him to be well frankly just more!
I'm glad I voted for this book as it's well written but unfortunately the villain of the piece was just too predictable which was somewhat disappointing . However I did enjoy the first half and thought that Sloan and her back story ( which was the highlight of the book for me ) really felt unusual and fresh. I will keep an eye out for other books by this author in the hope that next time there will be more suspense

[Mia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was totally underwhelming.

[Donna Hokanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love and betrayal

In this story you have a human woman named Sloan, that lost everything as a child. Was captured by aliens and somehow won her freedom. Now a Captain of her own ship, one that hulded cargo. But more importantly is the crew and how they came to be. Most were saved or bought by her then given their freedom, or choose to stay and work for her.
One such was Zan. She found home while making a purchase of equipment, in a cage almost dead. But Zan wasn't just a nobody, he is a Prince believing all his family dead.
Action, adventure and a love story. Well written self-contained story that's very entertaining to read.

[Liza · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt terrible rating this as 1 star, so I gave it 2, but it was definitely a 1 star for me.

When it comes to Kindle Scout, I love seeing fantasy and sci-fi books get published, because all too often it seems like only straight romance gets picked (with the periodic thriller and maybe a women's fiction here and there). Generally speaking, I have enjoyed most of the books that have made it to publishing, but this one... Agh.

I wanted to stamp it with a big, fat, DNF at 46%. Yes, it's a romance, no, I don't have an issue with torrid sex scenes, but that's definitely where it lost me.

This is set in space. The science isn't there, but you know what, I am awesome at suspension of disbelief if the author tries to make it sound good.

In this particular book, we're introduced to Xan, obviously a humanoid person from another planet. A big deal is made about how, when he is in contact with Sloan for the first time, how his universal translator isn't picking up her language because it's never come into contact with her. However, after two mentions, this is totally dropped and never brought up again. Why is it important that the D'Arians have never had contact with humans from Earth before? (Assuming that's what she speaks.)

I liked the premise - heir to the throne of another planet is kidnapped and kept as a servant/tortured until he's rescued by lady captain with a ship. Sounds interesting. The blurb sounded interesting! The first chapter was really interesting, and I was excited because it seemed like it would really go somewhere.

Then, we're introduced to Sloan. The tone changes during her story and felt more like a YA post-apocalypse "how did you end up here and why are you still alive" story. The "how" is kind of blurry - there aren't a lot of details about the race that invaded Earth. There's no details on what happened to Earth after she was taken prisoner. Does she ever go home? Was the planet destroyed?

I think if I'd been thrown a few more details that helped build the world, I would be a lot less angsty.

Speaking of angst, let's talk about the sex.

HOW THE HELL DID THEY KNOW THEY WERE BIOLOGICALLY COMPATIBLE?

I legit did not even know he was fully humanoid until he whipped out his penis and thrust it into her. Like, I was seriously waiting to see if there was going to be anything funky happening down there. Who knows? A solid physical description was never given for him beyond his spinal plating.

So that broke immersion for me. Plus it was so... random. Like, she was all cool as a cucumber and then suddenly, BAM, they're naked. Definitely no buildup, definitely didn't care one iota about what was happening.

Back to the "science" and world-building, Sloan is possibly the least sci-fi-ish space ship captain that I've ever encountered in a sci-fi book, romance or not. Points for acknowledging she had no prior space-faring background (having been born on Earth to very normal, non-technologically-advanced human parents who were not in NASA and did not own a rocket ship) and had to learn to pilot the ship when she got it, but it could also be assumed that she found someone else to pilot the ship and remained its owner and captain, so that didn't really sell it for me either.

Also: the lack of immediate explanation of a) how long Xan had been missing and presumed dead, and b) who the heck is running his country was extremely frustrating. Why wouldn't that be the first question out of his mouth? "Who is in charge while I was missing-presumed-dead?" (The plot was a teeny bit transparent, but that's not a big deal.) Also, no PTSD or mental health issues from being in captivity and tortured for nearly five years? ...fine. Maybe the D'Arians have some amazing ability to bounce back. Maybe it has to do with his telepathic-like projections that never really get explained.

Regarding Sloan being the queen - I get that we weren't supposed to like Venu. But for real, Sloan was born on Earth to a (presumably) middle-class family and abducted by aliens at 13-years-old. She has about as much background and ability to run an empire successfully as the - well, actually, the cook in the kitchen is probably more qualified because at least s/he would understand the nuances of the society s/he was trying to rule. I get that Venu is supposed to be the bad guy here with the whole "you're not right for my son, here's 5m creds to GTFO," but honestly, I'd have done the same thing in her position.

The last thing that really broke immersion for me, and I'm really trying to explain it away, is the terminology and way of speaking. So casual. All of them. Every speaks in the same dialect. They all use contractions properly (none of this "I did not know" - it's straight to "I didn't know" even though I find it SO hard to believe that so many different species would all use the same grammar and word order), they all speak with the same tone and inflection, using the same casusal language and slang. There's no miscommunication or misunderstanding when unusual idioms are used. I'm trying to get on board the Universal Translator train, but I guess I've watched too much Star Trek for that.

The lack of detail would have been better in a short story where you aren't expected to get to know the characters deeply or well.

Honestly, it's possible that I just had high hopes and expectations for this book, since I'd love to see it as a better represented category.

So, all of that being said, I noticed that the author has written a contemporary romance, and I would have absolutely no issue reading that. I feel like this genre just didn't work well for her.

[Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book by voting for it on Kindle Scout. I am glad it was selected!

I liked Sloan's fiery character and how she used her "underdog" characteristics to her advantage. Her adversaries realized too late that she was a force to be reckoned with. I think Sloan teetered on the the fine line of selfish, falling over a time or two. She would push people away for their own good and because she was afraid. I liked that she remembered what she'd gone through and used that to fuel her efforts to help others. I also liked Xan. I felt sorry for what happened to him, but I believe it made him the man that he needed to be. I liked the background information and the way the author presented it. I would have liked more information about some of the crew too.

I did not want to put this book down because I figured out what happened and wanted to see if I was right. Despite my speculation, I enjoyed the path it took to get to the big reveal. The words flowed easily and the plot did not lack despite several adult scenes. I did notice several grammatical mistakes, but they did not take away from the read. I would have liked to know more about what happened to Earth. There were glimpses of D'Arien, but more details to help build that world as well. What do the gardens look like, how are they grown. Since there were no details, my brain shrugged it off as Earthen. This was also how I dealt with their compatibility, we were never told if any of the crew eere humanoids. We got skin descriptions, hair and facial descriptions, with some comments about abs and spinal plates.

I liked that this is not a serial, though even if it had been, the author was kind enough to finish this book (so it would be a stand alone if she chose to write about Yaris or Dev or one of the other characters). I found myself smiling while reading certain parts and on the edge of my seat for others. 3.5 stars

[~My Book Obsession~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last 30%

This was a 5 star read for me until I reach the last 30% of the book. This was the most important part of the book and it was just messed up. Not like, "omg I can't believe that happen!" No, like the author got her event mixed up or something.
There's a scene where Sloan sees Xan brothers; she says, "she hates to be around because he makes her feel uneasy." However, not just 3 pages before Xan explained how he doesn't understand why his brother has come to see him and has been to see him since his return. Now how can this be. There are other parts in the last 30% of the book that has you thinking you jumped pages or something.
Other that the last 30% of the book I really enjoyed this story. It wasn't over the top with sex and how his looks make me wet and dumb at the same time. It was well balanced. I love a good smut Sci-fi don't get me wrong.
Xan struggles with the pressures of being a ruler until he is taken. He learns from his captivity and grows from it.
Sloan is a strong well and determined female who wants to save the world. She struggles with her emotions. She fears being left alone.

Blog link-
https://www.facebook.com/mybookobession

[Misty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay but not great

The main things I didn't enjoy in this book were how flat the characters seemed to be and that I wasn't able to make a full connection with them. When Sloan would get lost in memories it just seemed to happen and made me feel a bit jumbled and lost but it didn't happen often which was a plus. The second half of the book was in my opinion ion to much sexy time though I did appreciate the author going into detail of Sloan adjusting to palace life.

This book was a quick read and some of the storyline was great other parts such as referring to her love as her male or even him referring to himself as feeling male again was a bit odd to me. I do feel like this book series has promise and I wouldn't mind reading the second book.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have awarded four stars, except very early on there's a major plot point that's all but pointed to with a big flashing arrow. It would have been more fun if it had been a little harder to figure out what was going on. I do love a puzzle. Still, even though the world building could have been a little stronger, the character development was good and the writing was solid with very few errors.

The sex scenes weren't especially smutty; there was a sprinkling of graphic words. I'd rate them at about 2.5 out of 5.

This is an impressive debut novel. I'm glad I voted for it through Kindle Scout.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sci-fi fans may be disappointed with this book and its lack of world building, but romance fans will probably enjoy it. Although several species are mentioned, it is difficult to determine what they look like besides a casual mention of color or hair style. Many appear to be human-like since they can exchange clothing so readily. As far as the characters go, Sloan is a strong female captain, but perhaps a bit too much so. It doesn't make her weak to allow her crew to assist her. Xan, the captured prince, is rather weak and his main purpose seems to be to love Sloan. Even though the plot was predictable, it was interesting enough to see how it would play out.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book free through kindle scout. I really enjoyed this book. I love books with a kick-ass female and this definitely has one. Sloan travels through space trading cargo taking on odd transport and courier jobs. She rescues Xan from his life of torture. The person behind the original abduction was pretty obvious, but that didn't take from the storyline. I wouldn't mind checking out more from Maya Hughes.

[book-faery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Job Maya!
I really liked this book, it had likable strong characters and a action packed storyline, unfortunately these are elements that are often lacking in this genre...the only thing I didn't like about this book is it came to a end. Good job Maya I hope you write many more books in the sci-fi romance genre. I will definitely buy them...

[BP34 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Xan was the last surviving heir of a murdered planet and there is nothing there for him. When he is offered a place on Sloan's space crew, he accepts. Sloan is a strong personality and likes to be in charge. Xan is affected by all the trauma he has been through. It was an interesting book. I received an advance copy and voluntarily chose to review it.

[Trisha Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good

A bit predictable, but good strong plot line. The female character was strong even with her issues, the lead male started kind of whimsy but got better later in the story.

[Bex · Rating 3 out of 5]

It Was Ok

It was ok. I liked the overall idea of the story, but I didn't like Xen very much...he was too weak and insecure for me. I guess I just like more of the alpha-male better.
Also there was a lot of telling and not showing in this book.

(Free copy received in Kindle Scout)

[Edit · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars - I didn't liked this one that much...

* Hero(s) - 2/5
* Heroine(s) - 2/5
* Secondary Characters - 2/5

* Plot - 2/5
* Romance/Steam - 1/5
* Drama/Conflict/Angst - 2/5

* Writing Style - 3/5

[Gina Bonilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be my first scifi book it was amazing! Loved their dynamic between Sloan and Xan blew me away! I she with a bad ass attitude and him trying to hide his identity to discover himself again.

[Heliea · Rating 1 out of 5]

A mess of "space names" and a bit of a sloppy narrative. Not my cup of tea, even if the premise did sound cool, but then the actual book underdelivered.