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Betania Breed #1
The Captive
His name is Khazaar Drasurq.
He’s unlike any man she’s known.
He is dangerous.
He is unpredictable.
To Cassie, he is the most desirable man she's ever laid eyes on.
For the mighty Khazaar, on the other hand, the Earth women exists only to secure the survival of his race. She is a small cog in the big plan the merciless Alien Lord is following.
As Cassie is thrown into his dangerous world, she soon comes to understand just how desperately she needs something only he can give her—his protection.
A SciFi Alien Alpha Romance. The Captive is Book 1 of the Betania Breed Series.
Warning: Intended for mature audiences. Full-lenght Novel.
Betania Breed reading order:
The Captive
The Prey
The Human
The Dragon
He’s unlike any man she’s known.
He is dangerous.
He is unpredictable.
To Cassie, he is the most desirable man she's ever laid eyes on.
For the mighty Khazaar, on the other hand, the Earth women exists only to secure the survival of his race. She is a small cog in the big plan the merciless Alien Lord is following.
As Cassie is thrown into his dangerous world, she soon comes to understand just how desperately she needs something only he can give her—his protection.
A SciFi Alien Alpha Romance. The Captive is Book 1 of the Betania Breed Series.
Warning: Intended for mature audiences. Full-lenght Novel.
Betania Breed reading order:
The Captive
The Prey
The Human
The Dragon
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 22, 2015
507 people are currently reading
386 people want to read
About the author
Jenny Foster
39 books254 followersSometimes I still shake my head at myself! Me and sci-fi?
“Never,” I would have said, just a few years ago! I am much too caught up in the here and now for that. When I think about how big the universe is, and how small we all seem in comparison, I feel nothing but awe. In my writing, my passion goes to the creatures who live at the edge of our world. Aliens, werewolves, panther shifters, vampires - all of them fascinate me. That’s why I try, with the help of my keyboard, to breathe a life into them.
You can sign up for Release Updates at www.jenny-foster.com/releases.
“Never,” I would have said, just a few years ago! I am much too caught up in the here and now for that. When I think about how big the universe is, and how small we all seem in comparison, I feel nothing but awe. In my writing, my passion goes to the creatures who live at the edge of our world. Aliens, werewolves, panther shifters, vampires - all of them fascinate me. That’s why I try, with the help of my keyboard, to breathe a life into them.
You can sign up for Release Updates at www.jenny-foster.com/releases.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 174 reviews
December 9, 2022
A different sort of captured by aliens story!
The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💚🖤💙❤️
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: ☹️🙃☺️🥰
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Solo Narration
Cassie and Khazaar - Khazaar is the head warlord of the Qua’Hathri, a humanoid alien race who came to Earth and free humans from the oppressive rule of the Sethari, an alien race who feed off human energy. The Qua’Hathri are a dying race and need females to breed, they ask for one volunteer female for each of their warriors that died in the war, which amounted to something like 140 women. Cassie is chosen by Khazaar to be his wife.
Cassie has some psychic powers which seem to grow once she is on the spaceship. She initially balks at being chosen by Khazaar, mostly because she and the other woman weren’t volunteers like they were supposed to be, but were forced into service. Khazaar tells her if she doesn’t want him, then he can get someone else easily enough and to go with the other women.
Soon after, Cassie figures out that she was in fact attracted to Khazaar and wants to be with him, but when one of his generals overthrows him with the help of the Sethari, he wants Cassie and keeps Khazaar and the rest of the women inprisoned. Cassie and Khazaar use their psychic abilities to meet and make a plan, which ends up with the ship crashing on Betania.
At this point, Cassie thinks she is the only survivor and is found in the wilderness by a man named Zeyliv who wants to use her for her abilities. He looks human but she soon finds he is very predatory and travels with big cats. Each of the men in the village has a spirit animal and he is the leader of the village, who leads with an iron fist.
This book was narrated by Stella Bloom via solo narration. She does a great job and is terrific at doing different voices for different characters and showing emotion through her voice. I liked the story for the most part, though it went to places I didn’t expect at all and so many of the aliens were likable but did things worthy of hate. That I didn’t quite know what to think, but it did get me thinking so that was good.
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The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💚🖤💙❤️
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: ☹️🙃☺️🥰
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Solo Narration
Cassie and Khazaar - Khazaar is the head warlord of the Qua’Hathri, a humanoid alien race who came to Earth and free humans from the oppressive rule of the Sethari, an alien race who feed off human energy. The Qua’Hathri are a dying race and need females to breed, they ask for one volunteer female for each of their warriors that died in the war, which amounted to something like 140 women. Cassie is chosen by Khazaar to be his wife.
Cassie has some psychic powers which seem to grow once she is on the spaceship. She initially balks at being chosen by Khazaar, mostly because she and the other woman weren’t volunteers like they were supposed to be, but were forced into service. Khazaar tells her if she doesn’t want him, then he can get someone else easily enough and to go with the other women.
Soon after, Cassie figures out that she was in fact attracted to Khazaar and wants to be with him, but when one of his generals overthrows him with the help of the Sethari, he wants Cassie and keeps Khazaar and the rest of the women inprisoned. Cassie and Khazaar use their psychic abilities to meet and make a plan, which ends up with the ship crashing on Betania.
At this point, Cassie thinks she is the only survivor and is found in the wilderness by a man named Zeyliv who wants to use her for her abilities. He looks human but she soon finds he is very predatory and travels with big cats. Each of the men in the village has a spirit animal and he is the leader of the village, who leads with an iron fist.
This book was narrated by Stella Bloom via solo narration. She does a great job and is terrific at doing different voices for different characters and showing emotion through her voice. I liked the story for the most part, though it went to places I didn’t expect at all and so many of the aliens were likable but did things worthy of hate. That I didn’t quite know what to think, but it did get me thinking so that was good.
Blog|Goodreads|Facebook|Instagram|Twitter|BookBub
February 1, 2018
A futurist romance that if honest seemed too busy at times. It's a very creative idea but for this reader perhaps just too many ideas in play. We have human females sent off planet to bear children to the Warriors who helped save their world but these women are in the main not really willing. Still our heroine Cassie isn't about to go quietly but quickly discovers she's meant to be the bride of Khazaar the Warlord whose pheromones practically knock Cassie off her feet ! Although he's attractive Cassie is no push over and uses her unusual psychic abilities to try to read his thoughts but unfortunately Khazaar realises what she's doing and things quickly go from bad to worse !
I'm on the fence with this one as it really went in directions I hadn't expected . Cassie and Khazaar hardly really spent that much time together and yet she's desperately in love with him ? No that didn't work for me. Then there's what I can only liken to a revolution brewing but that just goes horribly wrong and Cassie, Khazaar and survivors end up on a planet ruled by Zeyliv, a man whose had experiments performed on him leaving him with what I can only describe as peculiar feline tendencies. Zeyliv quickly realises that Cassies abilities could be useful but he's just very blinkered and honestly what transpired between them in view of Cassie apparently being madly in love with Khazaar left a nasty taste in my mouth.
Unusual characters, an epilogue clearly meant to bring the story round to what had previously happened to Zeyliv but honestly as a romance it left a lot to be desired.
This voluntary take is of an advance copy and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
I'm on the fence with this one as it really went in directions I hadn't expected . Cassie and Khazaar hardly really spent that much time together and yet she's desperately in love with him ? No that didn't work for me. Then there's what I can only liken to a revolution brewing but that just goes horribly wrong and Cassie, Khazaar and survivors end up on a planet ruled by Zeyliv, a man whose had experiments performed on him leaving him with what I can only describe as peculiar feline tendencies. Zeyliv quickly realises that Cassies abilities could be useful but he's just very blinkered and honestly what transpired between them in view of Cassie apparently being madly in love with Khazaar left a nasty taste in my mouth.
Unusual characters, an epilogue clearly meant to bring the story round to what had previously happened to Zeyliv but honestly as a romance it left a lot to be desired.
This voluntary take is of an advance copy and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
February 2, 2018
This book was so bad I couldn't even finish it.
July 7, 2020
The Captive (Revised Édition) [June 20 2020]
If you take a read of my initial review (of the original edition of this book), you'll find that I rated it the same 3.5 stars as I'm rating the revised edition. Why? Because for all the improvements, some worked well and some didn't. This new edition was meant to lengthen the story so that more is explained, particularly in the mind of our main character, Cassie (whose name I remember now) and clarify points of details that were omitted the last time to maintain the feel of a short, fast-paced story.
And though, this time around there was definitely explanation more in parts that were lacking the first time, there are such fine lines between giving the reader information organically, info-dumping or repetition. I mean, it was great to understand more about Cassie's motivations and her feelings this time around, but it still did not feel like enough at times; why did Khazar (yes, I remember his name too now) just let her go so easily? She was the one that went to him, which yay consent, but at the same time I still couldn't understand that initial motivation behind it apart from maybe curiosity because of how they're connected? Maybe if we'd seen more scenes of them getting to know each other in neutral settings, I might have been more inclined to their relationship.
Of course, by the end, it was a bit easier to understand, given the situation that she was put into; what with all the coups and kidnappings. Cassie just wanted to make sure everyone was okay, at first, but did default back to getting Khazar out and saving everyone (with everyone being a convenient little bonus to their escapes).
The revised edition does go about explaining much more about the history behind the war on Earth and in the galaxy, which is good, and there's more detail into the background of the species that we meet a bit. Though again, there's a fine line between info-dump and organic understanding, most parts did flow naturally with the story and what was happening at the time. And the book has always been fast-paced, that's how the story has been written, and Foster has definitely improved the book enough that I can say it's well fast-paced but still understandable for the most part.
Though there are definite improvements to make the story more enjoyable to read (particularly as a book on its own, rather than a short story), most improvements were overshadowed by points that still feel flat or maybe trying-to-hard and therefore missing the point. Maybe I was just hoping to not being in Cassie's head; maybe seeing some scenes from Khazar's point of view, or other characters, would have shed light on the other side of the story; especially Khazar's time in captivity as well? Perhaps a third-person narrator would have been efficient enough to explain the story from a less emotional stand-point and done better to elaborate on the characters' motivations as they go about the rescue plot. (I'd like to point out here that the revised edition is not a revised plotline, kind of to my chagrin because some of the points from my original review were based on the way the plot unfolded so I might have had my hopes up that some things would be different.)
There is still heaps of potential for this story and the series as a whole, and maybe further revisions to the rest of the series will showcase those better but if the plot remains pretty much the same, I think I'm going to cut my losses. If I recall correctly, each book in this series is about a different character and there are massive time jumps; which aren't necessarily bad if there's context and explanations.
Overall, this revised edition is much better in a lot of places but does fall flat in some areas as well.
3.5/5
•
This book had potential, so much potential to be a great arc of character development and story.
Unfortunately, for me, it fell flat on a whole heap of points (some more than others).
As a short story, the entire story simply just didn't live up to the synopsis. My main peeve would be that our MC went from angry-defiant-not-taking-any-of-your-misogynistic-sh*t about the alien warlord who she was paired with to loving him? I tried really hard to put myself into this story so that I could understand her motives, but the fallback for these stories being so short means that it was a lot more difficult for me to do. (It is usually how I come to terms with any of the out-of-the-box and strange scenarios that I read about in any PNR book). Foster failed to allow me to do that by having a jolting main character who literally changed personality halfway through her arc.
Needless to say, I was left a little disappointed by it; if a heroine is going to be steadfast and determined and this kick-ass female who takes matters into her own hands and doesn't need to do things because of a man, then her development into something else needs to be respected enough that she doesn't seem bipolar. Not to say that our MC isn't efficient in how she gets things done, but yeah, a little let down by her.
That was the main reason number one for which this book lost a whole star. The second whole star deduction came from the really weirdly paced storyline and plot jumps.
I love a good rescue plot, and a survival plot, and I've recently become more appreciative of using political wiles in fantasy and PNR to live day by day (it leaves plot twists on the horizon ahead!) but Foster seems to want to add everything and anything. I'm not sure if it was the storyline, but I found a lot of scenes dragged between action – this left me really uninterested in continuing but I always try to give new PNR series a chance, because I'm a sucker for romance.
This uninterest also left me super apathetic about details – it's been about a week since I read this book and I wouldn't be able to tell you the characters names (if you notice, I've been referring to the main character as the main character because I cannot, for the life of me, remember her name and she's in the sequel as well.)
Okay, but I think I'm getting super personal now – back to the actual analytics, the storyline also had potential but lacked the finesse that gave it an interesting balance. There were cliche and predictable plotlines which I guessed from a mile away. I would have loved to see a more in-depth book, which would have given justice to the characters and their backstory (um, the alien warlord dude (Kalvar??) with the other warriors and their romances? I would have freaking loved to have seen more of them outside of Kalvar (it's what I'm calling him now) and the dude whose name starts with a V. I feel it would have given another level to the story itself.)
Not that there wasn't backstory. There was, but the way it was presented was very dry for me (which ties in with the lengthening and slow paced scenes which left me becoming bored).
This book was not terrible. I do recommend it if you enjoy quick romances in the PNR genre – but do not recommend it if you are like me and enjoy those kind of books which need to be apart of someting much much bigger. (Had these been short story novella companions to a larger PNR series I might have enjoyed them better – cameo opportunities would have kept me going)
So yes, 3.5 stars because it was not terrible but neither was it incredible – I would probably not read it again though.
3.5/5 [August 2018]
•
This copy was provided by the author for free in exchange for an honest review.
If you take a read of my initial review (of the original edition of this book), you'll find that I rated it the same 3.5 stars as I'm rating the revised edition. Why? Because for all the improvements, some worked well and some didn't. This new edition was meant to lengthen the story so that more is explained, particularly in the mind of our main character, Cassie (whose name I remember now) and clarify points of details that were omitted the last time to maintain the feel of a short, fast-paced story.
And though, this time around there was definitely explanation more in parts that were lacking the first time, there are such fine lines between giving the reader information organically, info-dumping or repetition. I mean, it was great to understand more about Cassie's motivations and her feelings this time around, but it still did not feel like enough at times; why did Khazar (yes, I remember his name too now) just let her go so easily? She was the one that went to him, which yay consent, but at the same time I still couldn't understand that initial motivation behind it apart from maybe curiosity because of how they're connected? Maybe if we'd seen more scenes of them getting to know each other in neutral settings, I might have been more inclined to their relationship.
Of course, by the end, it was a bit easier to understand, given the situation that she was put into; what with all the coups and kidnappings. Cassie just wanted to make sure everyone was okay, at first, but did default back to getting Khazar out and saving everyone (with everyone being a convenient little bonus to their escapes).
The revised edition does go about explaining much more about the history behind the war on Earth and in the galaxy, which is good, and there's more detail into the background of the species that we meet a bit. Though again, there's a fine line between info-dump and organic understanding, most parts did flow naturally with the story and what was happening at the time. And the book has always been fast-paced, that's how the story has been written, and Foster has definitely improved the book enough that I can say it's well fast-paced but still understandable for the most part.
Though there are definite improvements to make the story more enjoyable to read (particularly as a book on its own, rather than a short story), most improvements were overshadowed by points that still feel flat or maybe trying-to-hard and therefore missing the point. Maybe I was just hoping to not being in Cassie's head; maybe seeing some scenes from Khazar's point of view, or other characters, would have shed light on the other side of the story; especially Khazar's time in captivity as well? Perhaps a third-person narrator would have been efficient enough to explain the story from a less emotional stand-point and done better to elaborate on the characters' motivations as they go about the rescue plot. (I'd like to point out here that the revised edition is not a revised plotline, kind of to my chagrin because some of the points from my original review were based on the way the plot unfolded so I might have had my hopes up that some things would be different.)
There is still heaps of potential for this story and the series as a whole, and maybe further revisions to the rest of the series will showcase those better but if the plot remains pretty much the same, I think I'm going to cut my losses. If I recall correctly, each book in this series is about a different character and there are massive time jumps; which aren't necessarily bad if there's context and explanations.
Overall, this revised edition is much better in a lot of places but does fall flat in some areas as well.
3.5/5
•
This book had potential, so much potential to be a great arc of character development and story.
Unfortunately, for me, it fell flat on a whole heap of points (some more than others).
As a short story, the entire story simply just didn't live up to the synopsis. My main peeve would be that our MC went from angry-defiant-not-taking-any-of-your-misogynistic-sh*t about the alien warlord who she was paired with to loving him? I tried really hard to put myself into this story so that I could understand her motives, but the fallback for these stories being so short means that it was a lot more difficult for me to do. (It is usually how I come to terms with any of the out-of-the-box and strange scenarios that I read about in any PNR book). Foster failed to allow me to do that by having a jolting main character who literally changed personality halfway through her arc.
Needless to say, I was left a little disappointed by it; if a heroine is going to be steadfast and determined and this kick-ass female who takes matters into her own hands and doesn't need to do things because of a man, then her development into something else needs to be respected enough that she doesn't seem bipolar. Not to say that our MC isn't efficient in how she gets things done, but yeah, a little let down by her.
That was the main reason number one for which this book lost a whole star. The second whole star deduction came from the really weirdly paced storyline and plot jumps.
I love a good rescue plot, and a survival plot, and I've recently become more appreciative of using political wiles in fantasy and PNR to live day by day (it leaves plot twists on the horizon ahead!) but Foster seems to want to add everything and anything. I'm not sure if it was the storyline, but I found a lot of scenes dragged between action – this left me really uninterested in continuing but I always try to give new PNR series a chance, because I'm a sucker for romance.
This uninterest also left me super apathetic about details – it's been about a week since I read this book and I wouldn't be able to tell you the characters names (if you notice, I've been referring to the main character as the main character because I cannot, for the life of me, remember her name and she's in the sequel as well.)
Okay, but I think I'm getting super personal now – back to the actual analytics, the storyline also had potential but lacked the finesse that gave it an interesting balance. There were cliche and predictable plotlines which I guessed from a mile away. I would have loved to see a more in-depth book, which would have given justice to the characters and their backstory (um, the alien warlord dude (Kalvar??) with the other warriors and their romances? I would have freaking loved to have seen more of them outside of Kalvar (it's what I'm calling him now) and the dude whose name starts with a V. I feel it would have given another level to the story itself.)
Not that there wasn't backstory. There was, but the way it was presented was very dry for me (which ties in with the lengthening and slow paced scenes which left me becoming bored).
This book was not terrible. I do recommend it if you enjoy quick romances in the PNR genre – but do not recommend it if you are like me and enjoy those kind of books which need to be apart of someting much much bigger. (Had these been short story novella companions to a larger PNR series I might have enjoyed them better – cameo opportunities would have kept me going)
So yes, 3.5 stars because it was not terrible but neither was it incredible – I would probably not read it again though.
3.5/5 [August 2018]
•
This copy was provided by the author for free in exchange for an honest review.
December 18, 2019
Some advice: Show don’t tell is the first bit of advice. Second is dialog! Doesn’t anyone talk anymore? Is the future that horrible at communicating? Third, insta-love like this is so wrong. They barely spend any time together. She falls in love after she is kidnapped and no where near the guy. Revolution....oh dear, over the top. This lacked any focus as it jumped from plot point to plot point without much context. I found myself skimming as she wondered around the planet alone. It was a running monologue of boredom. This had so much promise and great ideas. The execution of it into a story needed some work and an editor.
August 4, 2018
***Spoiler warning***
Earth was invaded by bloodsucking aliens, but humans were luckily saved by another race of aliens. As part of the agreement between Earths government and the aliens who saved them, Earth had to supply them with human females. One female breeder for each alien male who’d died defending Earth.
Lena is unwillingly one of the selected females. Lena catches the eye of the alien commander, who picks her as his bride.
Lena is not happy. Long story short - Lena eventually falls for the Commander, but their spaceship is attacked and crashes.
Lena is taken captive by some natives and ends up with the leader of the tribe. Initially, Lena doesn’t know the Commander survived the crash, but later finds out that he too was captured by the same tribe and imprisoned. They plot to escape.
Very long story short - tribe leader decides Lena will birth him a son and kind of blackmails her into his bed. Lena is torn between her love for the Commander and her desire for the tribe leader, so ends up sleeping with both - more than a willing participant.
Me, I was very disappointed. I was kind of hoping Lena would have at lest put up a bit of a fight and stayed loyal to her Commander.
The book ends with Lena and the Commander escaping and Lena being preggers with twins - one from each male...
Earth was invaded by bloodsucking aliens, but humans were luckily saved by another race of aliens. As part of the agreement between Earths government and the aliens who saved them, Earth had to supply them with human females. One female breeder for each alien male who’d died defending Earth.
Lena is unwillingly one of the selected females. Lena catches the eye of the alien commander, who picks her as his bride.
Lena is not happy. Long story short - Lena eventually falls for the Commander, but their spaceship is attacked and crashes.
Lena is taken captive by some natives and ends up with the leader of the tribe. Initially, Lena doesn’t know the Commander survived the crash, but later finds out that he too was captured by the same tribe and imprisoned. They plot to escape.
Very long story short - tribe leader decides Lena will birth him a son and kind of blackmails her into his bed. Lena is torn between her love for the Commander and her desire for the tribe leader, so ends up sleeping with both - more than a willing participant.
Me, I was very disappointed. I was kind of hoping Lena would have at lest put up a bit of a fight and stayed loyal to her Commander.
The book ends with Lena and the Commander escaping and Lena being preggers with twins - one from each male...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 6, 2018
DNF
I got through what I think is about 50% of it.
It started off alright. I didn't gel with the writing style. The book was literally all Telling and no Showing.
I could deal with whatsherface's 'ability'. But it started to get annoying over time.
Also, the book actually moved too fast (which is rare for me to say that).
We went from her HATING the main male, to literally in the span of 5 minutes he becomes her 'beloved'. Literally a flip was switched. (Or actually, the baddie showed her what he wanted for their future, and revealed himself to be a baddie before he ran off to deal with the crisis on the ship).
I found myself skimming to the end of the second "part" and then I just didn't care (even skimming through the sex scene because *yawn*). So I stopped. I could not go any further. The writing style, the constant telling instead of showing, the insta beloved crap when she hated him 5 minutes before. I just couldn't do it any more.
No idea if I will give this author another chance with another book, but this series I'm done. I just don't have time for bad books.
Nice cover though. That is what got me. Though actually looking at it, it's completely nothing like the aliens are supposed to be. So... very deceptive.
I got through what I think is about 50% of it.
It started off alright. I didn't gel with the writing style. The book was literally all Telling and no Showing.
I could deal with whatsherface's 'ability'. But it started to get annoying over time.
Also, the book actually moved too fast (which is rare for me to say that).
We went from her HATING the main male, to literally in the span of 5 minutes he becomes her 'beloved'. Literally a flip was switched. (Or actually, the baddie showed her what he wanted for their future, and revealed himself to be a baddie before he ran off to deal with the crisis on the ship).
I found myself skimming to the end of the second "part" and then I just didn't care (even skimming through the sex scene because *yawn*). So I stopped. I could not go any further. The writing style, the constant telling instead of showing, the insta beloved crap when she hated him 5 minutes before. I just couldn't do it any more.
No idea if I will give this author another chance with another book, but this series I'm done. I just don't have time for bad books.
Nice cover though. That is what got me. Though actually looking at it, it's completely nothing like the aliens are supposed to be. So... very deceptive.
November 27, 2018
Was ok. Kept me entertained enough to keep reading and finish it. Was OTT in a few places. Might read the next books. We shall see.
May 13, 2019
Nah, I can’t even bring myself to write something useful about this book.
Just in general too much telenovela drama and nothing real in every aspect.
Just in general too much telenovela drama and nothing real in every aspect.
March 22, 2021
Meh.
Free audiobook from Scribd. I was on a road trip and just picked this. The road trip was the only reason I finished it.
Heroine gets ‘given’ to aliens by US President (along with 166 other human women) to be a breeder for an alien race that saved humanity from another group of aliens.
Cassie starts off fighting the leader but then (very suddenly) starts calling that same leader her Beloved and her True Love. It was horribly sudden with no reasoning or events that can be pointed at as cause.
This story was just very stilted and random.
Ends on a cliffhanger.
Only recommended as filler...
Free audiobook from Scribd. I was on a road trip and just picked this. The road trip was the only reason I finished it.
Heroine gets ‘given’ to aliens by US President (along with 166 other human women) to be a breeder for an alien race that saved humanity from another group of aliens.
Cassie starts off fighting the leader but then (very suddenly) starts calling that same leader her Beloved and her True Love. It was horribly sudden with no reasoning or events that can be pointed at as cause.
This story was just very stilted and random.
Ends on a cliffhanger.
Only recommended as filler...
August 26, 2021
This was so boring ugh I’m very disappointed. It started out so well but the instalove was so strong and it got really boring at the end.
Tws: kidnapping, being in captivity, forced sexual relations (being pressured into it)
Tws: kidnapping, being in captivity, forced sexual relations (being pressured into it)
July 29, 2018
Love it!!!!!!
February 7, 2019
Wow I really did not like it.
January 18, 2024
Train wreck.
December 8, 2023
3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
My brain is truly hurting from reading this story. It was like reading a jumbled up mishmash of thoughts written down to follow a storyline. I have given it 3 ⭐️, and that is me being generous. It truly is a strange read.
My brain is truly hurting from reading this story. It was like reading a jumbled up mishmash of thoughts written down to follow a storyline. I have given it 3 ⭐️, and that is me being generous. It truly is a strange read.
February 1, 2018
Bad. Just not good.
October 20, 2021
Did we all read the same book? This is god-awful. I'm like, the queen of "not my cup of tea." I don't rate a lot of what I read, because even if it's not written to my specifics as a reader, I can still appreciate a plot-line that's been given its due diligence, but this was atrocious.
One. Terrible with the show and tell. None of the thoughts of the characters have any real responsibility, they feel like scattered musings. No concrete links to develop likable and diverse casts and reactions.
Two. Lots of action happens in this book, but nothing in the story is written as if it is ANCHORED. The whole book is wishy-washy in this way--literally--the whole book is an example of how NOT to write altered plot consequences.
Three. The book feels very one-note. As if the action that happens is supposed to be the only action, and there is no room or potential for other opportunities. The presented story is within a vacuum, and therefore has a strange checklist expectations: character completed author-mandated action, check, next. This may seem to conflict with my second point, but strangely, it does not. This book is trippy in that way.
I want to emphasis that creativity isn't the problem, it's the way that it's been guided that makes the manuscript a poor one. There are quite a few interesting ideas at play that could have been a very interesting story--unfortunately it doesn't add up to success here.
Also. Spoiler beyond this point: this character does not stand by her original man and that deviation from a HEA is not a necessary plot point. She's asked to give her body in EXCHANGE for keeping a life from slavery--which she agrees to do--and has a lovely time doing it.
I dunno', it wasn't set-up properly as a reverse harem if that was the author's intention, so adding that plot detail was just a real head scratcher in a bad way. The book soured further at that junction, and I just felt like the sub-par writing up until that part was bad enough to warrant this being thrown on the 'did not care for' pile.
One. Terrible with the show and tell. None of the thoughts of the characters have any real responsibility, they feel like scattered musings. No concrete links to develop likable and diverse casts and reactions.
Two. Lots of action happens in this book, but nothing in the story is written as if it is ANCHORED. The whole book is wishy-washy in this way--literally--the whole book is an example of how NOT to write altered plot consequences.
Three. The book feels very one-note. As if the action that happens is supposed to be the only action, and there is no room or potential for other opportunities. The presented story is within a vacuum, and therefore has a strange checklist expectations: character completed author-mandated action, check, next. This may seem to conflict with my second point, but strangely, it does not. This book is trippy in that way.
I want to emphasis that creativity isn't the problem, it's the way that it's been guided that makes the manuscript a poor one. There are quite a few interesting ideas at play that could have been a very interesting story--unfortunately it doesn't add up to success here.
Also. Spoiler beyond this point: this character does not stand by her original man and that deviation from a HEA is not a necessary plot point. She's asked to give her body in EXCHANGE for keeping a life from slavery--which she agrees to do--and has a lovely time doing it.
I dunno', it wasn't set-up properly as a reverse harem if that was the author's intention, so adding that plot detail was just a real head scratcher in a bad way. The book soured further at that junction, and I just felt like the sub-par writing up until that part was bad enough to warrant this being thrown on the 'did not care for' pile.
January 24, 2018
Soooo dumb
What a garbled mess of a story. Way to many ideas thrust into one book. The goal I think was to tell an epic story but it just fell flat. We really know nothing about the H and h but they somehow fall insta-love. It was a struggle to finish.
What a garbled mess of a story. Way to many ideas thrust into one book. The goal I think was to tell an epic story but it just fell flat. We really know nothing about the H and h but they somehow fall insta-love. It was a struggle to finish.
February 15, 2018
Disappointing
I'm really glad I didn't pay for this book. The story line sounded interesting but the style was definitely not my taste. Way too much talk and too much first person perspective. I'm one and done with this series.
I'm really glad I didn't pay for this book. The story line sounded interesting but the style was definitely not my taste. Way too much talk and too much first person perspective. I'm one and done with this series.
January 28, 2018
Kind of fast-paced, a bit predictable and care I say that unbelievable? The heroine gets sold, abducted, force bred, accused and so on. She had an inkling of psychic abilities and in the end, predictably she is able to do astounding stuff.
She also barely spends any time with her alien yet she is madly in love but also managed to have sex with another guy.
I could read the next one but only with the promise of it becoming at least a menage.
She also barely spends any time with her alien yet she is madly in love but also managed to have sex with another guy.
I could read the next one but only with the promise of it becoming at least a menage.
April 23, 2018
I really liked this book and enjoyed reading it! I started and finished it in one day. It was imaginative, exciting, and interesting. It did seem a little overwhelming at times with everything that happened which is why I’m giving it four stars instead of five. Overall I enjoyed the writing and look forward to reading more from this author.
September 20, 2018
In "The Captive" we meet Cassie and Khazaar and to those that have read the prequel you know that the Qua’Hathri saved the human survivors from Sethari "dictatorship" in exchange for human females. And that's were we start in this book. Cassie is one of the women that were given to the Qua'Hathri for their help, and she finds herself in the arms of Khazaar.
This is just the second story I've read of Jenny, and I'm quite happy to get to learn more about the world and the aliens. Although I have a couple of things to say about the book, let me just say that over all, I was quite surprised and excited from beginning to end.
In terms of plot, it was unexpected to read about Cassie's life from the moment she met Khazaar until the end. She was a woman with some mind controlling and mind reading abilities that not only got her in difficult situations, but have also helped her get out of some problems and survive. That was something I liked a lot, and since it was in the 1st person POV we had a front seat to her mind and heart, and that made me feel empathy towards her.
Then there is Khazaar, that in some way I'm sad that I couldn't get to know him as much as I would loved. Despite that I could see how he was a leader that had his people in mind, loyal and strong. And because I didn't really knew what was in his mind there was this disconnect at some moments, although I was sad once things turned bad.
The book had a quick pace at moments and it was chaotic sometimes because of all the action that was happening and for all the bad things the characters had to deal with. And then... the end... That ending as even more 'WOW' and unexpected. And thankfully I could immediately go read the second book and see if I could find some new information about Cassie and Khasaar, while meeting new characters and learning more about the world.
Overall, I loved the book because it was different and it was surprising, full of twists and turns, with some unique characters and since it's a sci-fi romance, there is that sense of otherworldly and possibility.
This is just the second story I've read of Jenny, and I'm quite happy to get to learn more about the world and the aliens. Although I have a couple of things to say about the book, let me just say that over all, I was quite surprised and excited from beginning to end.
In terms of plot, it was unexpected to read about Cassie's life from the moment she met Khazaar until the end. She was a woman with some mind controlling and mind reading abilities that not only got her in difficult situations, but have also helped her get out of some problems and survive. That was something I liked a lot, and since it was in the 1st person POV we had a front seat to her mind and heart, and that made me feel empathy towards her.
Then there is Khazaar, that in some way I'm sad that I couldn't get to know him as much as I would loved. Despite that I could see how he was a leader that had his people in mind, loyal and strong. And because I didn't really knew what was in his mind there was this disconnect at some moments, although I was sad once things turned bad.
The book had a quick pace at moments and it was chaotic sometimes because of all the action that was happening and for all the bad things the characters had to deal with. And then... the end... That ending as even more 'WOW' and unexpected. And thankfully I could immediately go read the second book and see if I could find some new information about Cassie and Khasaar, while meeting new characters and learning more about the world.
Overall, I loved the book because it was different and it was surprising, full of twists and turns, with some unique characters and since it's a sci-fi romance, there is that sense of otherworldly and possibility.
June 12, 2018
There was plenty of action and an interesting storyline. Sometimes things were a little rushed and I didn't think there was enough development of the first two races that Earth interacted with. There was more development with the third race Cassie came in contact with and that had a lot to do with the amount of time that she spent there.
Cassie's psychic ability gave more insight into the hero's main rival that elevated him from a flat villain to something more complex. The scientifically manipulated chief was a developed character as well. Khazaar, in some ways, wasn't as developed as the others but wasn't flat. Cassie fell in love a little bit too quickly; going from not really liking him and looking at other options for to be her mate to thinking he was the love of her life without there being enough foundation for the idea of "soul mates" to explain their connection.
I liked that Cassie took charge of her fate. She was stuck being one of the women given to an alien race as payment for saving Earth but she tried to make the best of it by talking to some of the males and encouraging others so they weren't stuck with whoever just pointed at them. She didn't close herself off to attraction to other males even if she was in love with someone else. In reality, being in love doesn't end all attractions with other people (or beings in this case). If she was going to be forced to have sex with someone she really didn't like why not try to make it as pleasant as possible. Though I thought the attraction was presented a little too strongly with the genetically-altered chief when she didn't like him.
The synopsis of the book is a bit misleading. Cassie didn't run to Khazaar for protection all the time. They needed each other and other people to survive as well as escape from captivity. I liked that no character was superman or superwoman able to beat all people in a fight and survive a starship crash without injury.
Cassie's psychic ability gave more insight into the hero's main rival that elevated him from a flat villain to something more complex. The scientifically manipulated chief was a developed character as well. Khazaar, in some ways, wasn't as developed as the others but wasn't flat. Cassie fell in love a little bit too quickly; going from not really liking him and looking at other options for to be her mate to thinking he was the love of her life without there being enough foundation for the idea of "soul mates" to explain their connection.
I liked that Cassie took charge of her fate. She was stuck being one of the women given to an alien race as payment for saving Earth but she tried to make the best of it by talking to some of the males and encouraging others so they weren't stuck with whoever just pointed at them. She didn't close herself off to attraction to other males even if she was in love with someone else. In reality, being in love doesn't end all attractions with other people (or beings in this case). If she was going to be forced to have sex with someone she really didn't like why not try to make it as pleasant as possible. Though I thought the attraction was presented a little too strongly with the genetically-altered chief when she didn't like him.
The synopsis of the book is a bit misleading. Cassie didn't run to Khazaar for protection all the time. They needed each other and other people to survive as well as escape from captivity. I liked that no character was superman or superwoman able to beat all people in a fight and survive a starship crash without injury.
May 16, 2019
I stopped at 21%. The sample had been promising but it very quickly took a nose dive. The characters have no depth, the world building is non-existent, the romance is non-existent and there is zero pacing/set up.
January 30, 2025
This trope is one I usually like. Bad aliens invade Earth, good aliens help us and in return they ask for healthy women to be their mates so they can have children. Our government is usually the bad guys and instead of asking willing women to go with the aliens, they make it something women have to do even if they have families they're leaving behind, as was the case with this book. But I like alien romance stories so I keep reading them.
After the Sethari invade, the humans are willing to do anything to get rid of them. So when Khazaar's people help and get rid of the bad aliens our government has to do what they said they will and hand over healthy human females as mates for these aliens. Cassie is one of those women and Khazaar has claimed her as his.
Cassie has psychic abilities that allow her to leave her body and even inhabit others bodies for a time. She can psychically talk to some others so this comes in handy when their spaceship crashes and they are kidnapped by other aliens who want to sell both of them into slavery. But the leader of this new race of aliens finds out about Cassie being psychic and uses her abilities for himself on his people. He's power hungry and an awful ruler.
There was a lot going on in this book, maybe too much. The book starts out great but then Cassie and Khazaar get separated and she has to use her abilities to help rescue them both. That whole middle part of the book of them separated and trying to escape lasted too long and hurt the story in my opinion.
After the Sethari invade, the humans are willing to do anything to get rid of them. So when Khazaar's people help and get rid of the bad aliens our government has to do what they said they will and hand over healthy human females as mates for these aliens. Cassie is one of those women and Khazaar has claimed her as his.
Cassie has psychic abilities that allow her to leave her body and even inhabit others bodies for a time. She can psychically talk to some others so this comes in handy when their spaceship crashes and they are kidnapped by other aliens who want to sell both of them into slavery. But the leader of this new race of aliens finds out about Cassie being psychic and uses her abilities for himself on his people. He's power hungry and an awful ruler.
There was a lot going on in this book, maybe too much. The book starts out great but then Cassie and Khazaar get separated and she has to use her abilities to help rescue them both. That whole middle part of the book of them separated and trying to escape lasted too long and hurt the story in my opinion.
November 18, 2018
I am a CAPTIVE AUDIENCE !!
What a love story ! I thought that the story and characters were well thought out and complex and looking for love 💘( like we all are :))
I met Khazzar in the 1st story I read , THE BEAST, and i t enjoyed that story immensely. So I 1clicked and what an amazing Baltic ride !
Cassie is a part of the bargain that the President made with the Qua' Hathri, a race of Warriors who promise to get rid of the species that has taken over Earth. For a price . They need women genetically compatable with their own people . Cassie is one of 167 other women. And , according to the computers, she is 97% able to bring healthy children into their world . Not volunteering for this "mission " , Cassie is reluctant to go through with this -and who could blame her ???
Of Course , once she makes her feelings known , she expects to be reprimanded. But Khazzar calmly tells her that she may go.... He has no need to be with a woman that doesn't want to be there. That only makes Cassie wonder if he is even attracted to her . When she finds out that He is ....well . The adventure just shoots off like a cannon, as they go from one situation, directly into another. And another. And ANOTHER. Cassie has an ability that many would want to be able to control. And many Try . But will her and her beloved be able to traverse the slippery slope that they find themselves in ???
I am on to the next installment, as this series continues!! 😁
What a love story ! I thought that the story and characters were well thought out and complex and looking for love 💘( like we all are :))
I met Khazzar in the 1st story I read , THE BEAST, and i t enjoyed that story immensely. So I 1clicked and what an amazing Baltic ride !
Cassie is a part of the bargain that the President made with the Qua' Hathri, a race of Warriors who promise to get rid of the species that has taken over Earth. For a price . They need women genetically compatable with their own people . Cassie is one of 167 other women. And , according to the computers, she is 97% able to bring healthy children into their world . Not volunteering for this "mission " , Cassie is reluctant to go through with this -and who could blame her ???
Of Course , once she makes her feelings known , she expects to be reprimanded. But Khazzar calmly tells her that she may go.... He has no need to be with a woman that doesn't want to be there. That only makes Cassie wonder if he is even attracted to her . When she finds out that He is ....well . The adventure just shoots off like a cannon, as they go from one situation, directly into another. And another. And ANOTHER. Cassie has an ability that many would want to be able to control. And many Try . But will her and her beloved be able to traverse the slippery slope that they find themselves in ???
I am on to the next installment, as this series continues!! 😁
January 23, 2019
3.75 stars
I found this book on a Amazon similar and decided to give it a try. The plot held my interest and I liked how the author showed Cassie’s mind reading power. It was an unique way to present mind reading. Cassie was able to astro-project in a ghostly form and she was able to place her spirit-self into people's heads. That concept was presented well.
At 1st I thought this would be like the same alien claim his bride book, but it was refreshing that it played out differently. This book had a great plot, however, I do again with the reviews that state that's it's too much going on for one book. The plot changes were jarring. It went from the ship being invaded to them being taken captive on another ship--to that ship crashing and diving into another totally different survival plot. There were several times that I had to go back and reread what had happened vs what was happening because the plot jumps got confusing.
I enjoyed the romance between Cassie and Khazaar. I really liked Khazaar. I liked Cassie for the most part, but there was a time or two were she was very contradicting. I didn't like how she didn't feel guilty about sleeping with Zeyliv until Khazaar saw the aftermath. That really clashed with her being so in love with Khazaar.
All and all this was good start to the series and I am interesting enough to continue reading book 2 about Cassie and Khazaar's kids.
I found this book on a Amazon similar and decided to give it a try. The plot held my interest and I liked how the author showed Cassie’s mind reading power. It was an unique way to present mind reading. Cassie was able to astro-project in a ghostly form and she was able to place her spirit-self into people's heads. That concept was presented well.
At 1st I thought this would be like the same alien claim his bride book, but it was refreshing that it played out differently. This book had a great plot, however, I do again with the reviews that state that's it's too much going on for one book. The plot changes were jarring. It went from the ship being invaded to them being taken captive on another ship--to that ship crashing and diving into another totally different survival plot. There were several times that I had to go back and reread what had happened vs what was happening because the plot jumps got confusing.
I enjoyed the romance between Cassie and Khazaar. I really liked Khazaar. I liked Cassie for the most part, but there was a time or two were she was very contradicting. I didn't like how she didn't feel guilty about sleeping with Zeyliv until Khazaar saw the aftermath. That really clashed with her being so in love with Khazaar.
All and all this was good start to the series and I am interesting enough to continue reading book 2 about Cassie and Khazaar's kids.
April 28, 2025
This was a bit of a struggle to read because there's just too much going on in the plot and some isn't believable. The author info dumped way too much stuff in one story and made it too busy. Cassie along with other human women are given to aliens who saved earth as breeding wives with their consent. The warlord khazaar chooses her but she isn't agreeable at first. Then their ship is attacked and they crash on another planet with more aliens. Cassie has psychic gifts which are exploited when she's captured anew believing she's the only survivor. However khazaar survived also and she's now decided she wants him after all so escape is the main goal as well as rescuing of some survivors she's discovered.
This story is very complex and seems to go in multiple directions with many plot twists that are overwhelming because too much is happening. The escapes in places are not believable and with hardly any time spent together suddenly the main characters are in love. It's not relatable or believable. I'm not sure I will continue this series as the directions some things took in this book I'm not sure I enjoyed. Definitely a different style book to read which leaves me feeling ambiguous.
This story is very complex and seems to go in multiple directions with many plot twists that are overwhelming because too much is happening. The escapes in places are not believable and with hardly any time spent together suddenly the main characters are in love. It's not relatable or believable. I'm not sure I will continue this series as the directions some things took in this book I'm not sure I enjoyed. Definitely a different style book to read which leaves me feeling ambiguous.
June 23, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I found the characters and world building quite intriguing. The storyline takes place in a sci-fi type setting that includes several planets with very diverse cultures and races. It is quite action packed with plenty of twists and turns that kept me quite entertained. The main villain of the story is a scientist intent on genetic manipulation to create a superior race of warriors and he pretty much doesn't care who he hurts to achieve this. There are others intent on keeping Cassie and Khazaar apart as well. The two main characters Cassie and Khazaar are about as different from each other as they come but somehow their relationship works. Their story is not just a happily ever after. They have to pretty much fight for their chance at happiness and overcome a number of obstacles and individuals to achieve this goal including the scientist I mentioned. If you enjoy an out of this world romance that will keep you guessing till the end I suggest you should check this one out. You won't be disappointed.
January 4, 2024
3 stars for 3 reasons. 1st star: Hot blue alien who may or may not be part dragon?
2nd star: Plot.
3rd star: Simply because it did manage to keep me reading to be able to finish it.
That being said... there was a lot going on in this book, and it was mashed all together. There is a lot to take in and in a VERY short amount of time. I won't give spoilers due to the fact that there is just so much to cover that it honestly makes me exhausted thinking about it, but at the same time, the story is pretty simple. Everyone ends up wanting to breed her. There's a lot of missing details inside the book tho and it makes you have to go back and reread parts to be sure you didn't miss anything but only to realize that it wasn't you, it was the story itself. If the books had been spaced out and made into a trilogy of Cassie and Khazaar and given more details and time, this would have made the book wonderful. But due to the lack of information and detail we get, I do not have high hopes for other series from this author.
2nd star: Plot.
3rd star: Simply because it did manage to keep me reading to be able to finish it.
That being said... there was a lot going on in this book, and it was mashed all together. There is a lot to take in and in a VERY short amount of time. I won't give spoilers due to the fact that there is just so much to cover that it honestly makes me exhausted thinking about it, but at the same time, the story is pretty simple. Everyone ends up wanting to breed her. There's a lot of missing details inside the book tho and it makes you have to go back and reread parts to be sure you didn't miss anything but only to realize that it wasn't you, it was the story itself. If the books had been spaced out and made into a trilogy of Cassie and Khazaar and given more details and time, this would have made the book wonderful. But due to the lack of information and detail we get, I do not have high hopes for other series from this author.
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