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The Mate Index #1.5

Hearts of Indesh

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If you want love, why not steal some hearts? Hearts of Indesh is a Mate Index Valentine's Day short story

Nazzek Evatuuvar is Indivi, a dying species native to Indesh. After the planet's few remaining females had long since been stolen away by slavers two decades ago he never thought he would have a mate. He is an aquisitioner, not a pirate, who has gotten bored of his life saving females in distress and the general daily grind. He is not "lonely" exactly, but when he sees an article boasting that a prince was marrying twenty humans, a new species with wide mating compatibility, he decides that the prince really has one too many. After all, wouldn't a female do far better being rescued and mated to him. Ignoring all objections from his crew, he makes a simple plan: board the Lorgor starship, steal a mate, and haul ass home to Indesh. Things don't go quite as planned, but a scenic route with a romantic stay-over on a planet of cannibals isn't too bad. Surely his female would be swayed by a healthy dose of romance!

Nikki Perdit is the daughter of an up in coming regional diplomat who allowed her father to talk her into registering for the Mate Index. He wants to make a good impression on the community by registering his only daughter, she is swayed by thought of a mate of her own. She is surprised, and displeased, to find out she was selected to be one of twenty women to be mated to a Calysii prince. She is less than thrilled, tried to escape actually. Imagine her surprise to be "rescued" by a cocky pirate whose idea of romance is gratuitous oral sex--from her. Despite being convinced her new mate is a bit nut-job, she is charmed by his sweet side. Nikki find herself in short order on the run from a jilted mate, overdosing on aphrodisiac plants, and saving three hundred captive women from a cannibalistic race in order to spirit them away to bring hope and love to the hearts of the people of Indesh. And maybe in the process find her own great romance story...all in time for Valentine's Day.

92 pages, ebook

First published February 13, 2019

286 people are currently reading
119 people want to read

About the author

S.J. Sanders

86 books1,009 followers
S.J. Sanders is a mom of two toddlers and one adult living in Anchorage, Alaska. She has a BA degree in History, but spends most of her free time painting, sculpting, doing odd bits of historical research, and writing. While she has more research orientated writing under another pen name, her passion is sci-fi and paranormal romance of which she is an avid reader. After years of tinkering with the idea, and making her own stories up in her head, S.J has began to seriously pursue writing as an author of Sci-fi Romance utilizing her interests in how cultures diversify and what they would look like on a extraterrestrial platform to humans interacting with them and finding love.

She can be found on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Author-SJ-Sa...

And follow her blog at https://sjsandersromance.wordpress.com

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5 stars
345 (42%)
4 stars
254 (31%)
3 stars
168 (20%)
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38 (4%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
Profile Image for Bex (Beckie Bookworm).
2,534 reviews1,598 followers
March 25, 2022



This was a quick fun read and I enjoyed it a lot though I do kind of wish it was a full-length novel as I was that into Nazzek and Nikki’s overall dynamic. So Nikki is strong-armed by her father into joining the mate's index and finds herself on a ship with nineteen other women heading to the planet Caysta to be a bride to some prince it’s the last place she wants to be and all the other women are highly strung younger and annoying.

Nazzek wants a human mate and decides that the prince can afford to lose one so he plans to rescue and liberate his chosen mate and she’ll be so grateful to him she’ll fall at his feet in gratitude. What he gets is Nikki and she’s far different to what he was expecting but he instantly loves her fiery attitude and big personality. Nazzek was bloody hilarious he’s an alien goofball with absolutely no filter and absolutely no idea when it comes to romance. But he is basically harmless and he definitely stole the show for me.

This was insta and sexy and just so much fun. I’m not a huge fan of novella reads but occasionally an author manages to pull one out of the bag for me and this one I did enjoy very much. If this novella was ever expanded on and lengthened to provide more in-depth context as it did feel slightly stripped back at times this could easily become a five-star read. As it stands it’s still a fun sweet but short romance all I want now is mates for the rest of Nazzek’s crew.

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Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
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Profile Image for Chrissy  Loves Books.
831 reviews12 followers
October 13, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Heart of Indesh by S.J. Sanders

I’m such a fan nowadays—S.J. Sanders’ work for me was quite the find! This story is often hilarious, full of that chaotic energy that somehow feels both wild and heartwarming. Nikki absolutely stole the show for me. She’s all rough-and-tumble grit on the outside, but underneath? A total romantic softie. I love that balance—she’s the kind of heroine you can relate to whether you’ve got the scrapes and scars to prove it or you’re just a sucker for love.

It’s got adventure, humor, and heart in equal measure. Sanders does such a great job at blending alien romance with genuine personality and emotional moments. Definitely another winner in her growing universe of strong, relatable women and their equally fascinating mates.
Profile Image for Charlotte.
2,121 reviews80 followers
June 21, 2019
*WARNING* contains explicit adult sexual situations
A couple of things first, one is I loved this story and second is I really hope
Oigr gets a story finding his someone too.
Nikki is loud and fun, just a great character that pairs well with Nazzek who is much the same. Hearts of Indesh is short, but it has everything you expect from a SFR.
Profile Image for EvaLovesRomance.
472 reviews
June 13, 2021
Really enjoyable read.

I enjoyed this short story of a harem of women to marry a Prince that already have other wives. Nikki meets Nazzek when he tries to steal one of the new wives. I just loved their interactions.
360 reviews1 follower
June 28, 2025
I liked both the story and the characters!
Nikki was pissed off that her parents made her sign up the for Mate Index when she was picked as one of twenty women to marry some asshole alien prince. She spent three days on a luxurious ship fuming and planning her escape, and just before they got to their destination a crew of three aliens attacked the ship. Their crazy leader grabbed Nikki and told her that he was rescuing her so she could be his mate. He even told her that she could give him a grateful blowie...and he thought she would be elated ;)
Nazzek was the biggest idiot in the galaxy. He was charming and funny, but completely clueless in the relationship department. Oh, he fucked plenty of females after saving them from slavers or unwanted matings, but he had no idea why they were always pissed off when he left them safely on their planets. Even his two crewmates and best friends thought that he was fucked up, but they still loved their idiot captain. Oigr and Medif were great and I can't wait to get to their novellas!
The story was a crazy, fast paced adventure and I greatly enjoyed it. It was sweet how the three barely legally operating pirates readily agreed to save human women that were held on a planet full of cannibals.
31 reviews
October 7, 2025
I had totally forgotten to read this novella. It was buried in my TBR pile until I began to read the next novella in the series and I was confused with references to a past story. Sometimes I find seasonal novellas to be a tad boring but I enjoy the Universe S. J. Sanders created for this series and I love that I can get some bonus time in it.

It was indeed a novella, very short, very quick, totally on point. The ad for the Mate Index is so freaking cringe it can only be called realistic. Nazzek's (MMC) expectations are cute and you know from the begining he's in for a surprise and a wild ride and not only because the plot demands it. I didn't hate Nikki but I can't say I loved her. She was very fitting for Nazzek. Honestly, I think I would have loved to see a longer version of this story.

The smut fit the story with a nice twist.

Favourite quote that sums up Nazzek fairly well:
"He was just overall a good person in a slightly pirate package."
Profile Image for JML.
1,303 reviews24 followers
July 21, 2020
Shirt,sexy,sweet and hilarious💖💖💖💖

Omg this was the best your of reading I've had in a while. I laughed from chapter two on the characters in this book are fabulous! Nikki, is a human woman in her early thirties and her parents have validly sold her to an alien Prince as one of 20 earth females that he wants too marry. Suffice to say she is listed and doesn't want to be apart of this farce of a marriage. Nazzek, pirate, acquirer of many things shall we say decided he wants a mate. He sees the ad from Earth and the Prince who is going to marry 20, he decides the Prince won't miss one of the happens to disappear. Nazzek, and his fabulous crew who also deserve mates raid the princes ship and he hmm liberates Nikki and hilarity ensues. It awesome 💖 funny, sexy sweet, romantic passionate and sooooo much fun. I'm still smiling 💖💖💖💖💖💖
Profile Image for Nike.
304 reviews
March 14, 2019
This book follows a twist within the Mate Index universe, is a short read compared with the previous book featuring the Vadorok. The story has a simple plot that we have seen over and over when it comes to alien abduction but, what makes it different than others is the H, he’s excellent, funny, sweet and cooky. I found myself laughing like a crazy person with his antics. The book is missing some background story that was explained in book one; there are some grammar errors, but in my case, it didn’t take from the book.
Note: book one had a great plot, but the grammar and lack of flow took the enjoyment out of the read; the author said she is reediting book one to fix those mistakes so I would be looking forward to rereading the Vadorok in the future.
Profile Image for Carmen.
2,084 reviews11 followers
January 12, 2021
That’s Not Romantic

Oh boy! Talk about a clueless alien and a spitfire human female and you’ve got the perfect set of characters for this book. Nazzek, the alien wants a mate and is misguided enough to think he can steal one in route to a price and she will be so grateful she will immediately fall down and worship him with her lips. Say what?.. clueless like I said. He gets a handful in feisty, foul mouthed Nikki who I loved immediately. Follow their adventures for lots of laughs and action. The characters are engaging, the world building is unique, and the stories are really good. The Mate Index promises to entertain for many books and I’m so glad I stumbled across this author.
Profile Image for Christy.
101 reviews14 followers
October 22, 2019
Typos

A reader truly can find comfort in dotted 'I's and crossed 'T's as we say in the editing world. I would have greatly enjoyed, what should have been, a fast-paced, whirlwind of a romantic adventure if not for the bi-page grammatical errors in need of correction. As an English teacher, I love solving grammar and usage problems, yet this story tested my ability to balance pleasurable engagement over error rectification. Five previous titles I experienced by this author kept me in it to win it. Here's to hoping the next five keep a tighter leash on mechanics and grammar usage.
Profile Image for Susan Otto.
832 reviews9 followers
July 18, 2020
Awesome story about an alien race finding romance

The planet Indesh has very few mates because of illness wiped out their population of females like the rest of the galaxy. Earth females can breed with any anien race, so the government of each are selling women to any alien race who meet their price. However, the women know nothing of this.

Nezzeck kidnapped Nikki from her mating to alien prince along with 19 others from earth to his harem. What will happen to Nikki?

The characters are funny, feisty, and intriguing.This romantic comedy has a fast paced drama twist. This is a romantic funny story which is most enjoyable read. Highly recommended.

bookwormsuzy
245 reviews1 follower
October 2, 2020
GREAT STORY

Well this second book was much shorter than the first or at least it seemed that way. I was surprised it wasn't a book about the Euduk probably spelt that wrong. Anyway Nikki is bamboozled into signing up to the mate index by her bossy political Dad and is being shipped off to a princes harem against her will. Luckily she is stolen off the transport by Some very handsome non- pirates looking for a mate for thier Captain. Their Captain is young and a bit crazy. Lol. Its an adventure in comic interstellar mating. Dana Lynn
Profile Image for Alex Silver.
627 reviews24 followers
March 21, 2024
2.2/5

Cringy dialogue and plot that was wayyyy too easy to resolve. Motivations made no sense. Why track/hunt a thief who has stolen the princess mate but when you catch them let them go because they are in love? Huh? I wouldn’t risk the princes wrath for that. It had been like 1 day, how in love could they be?

Also the MMC bound her to him without her consent. Barf. It was a 2.6 until then.



Alien. Lizard-ish. Mating barb. Mating bite. Breeding but no pregnancy. No epilogue. No OMD/OWD. No cheating. No breakup.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jeannette.
1,415 reviews
November 26, 2024
Nikki and Nazzek

This is a short, good, SciFi, Alien/ Human romance. The story is good but there are several editing problems especially in the last half. The characters are interesting, developed with a back story and lovable. Nikki was not happy to find she was one of 20 women headed to marry a prince. Nazzek rescues her but she is not immediately happy. Read and learn how Nazzek learns how to be romantic.
Profile Image for Carlislethesucker uwu.
290 reviews2 followers
May 1, 2025
I say this was a good story but it was VERY quick. I get it but also it felt like we were rushed through the plot just for the sake of it.

I wasn't really that invested but I thought it would be nice to finish this series as a whole. I didn't really get the whole Valentine's Day thing until the very end and I think the author would have been better off just doing a regular book vs a holiday themed one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
2,120 reviews5 followers
March 28, 2019
A great read

This was a great book . The story flowed wonderfully with only a few errors. I loved the female lead...strong, educated, opinionated, and said what she thought. She was the perfect mate for Nazzek. I highly recommend this short quick read. This was my first book by this author, but it definitely won't be my last.
1,197 reviews6 followers
May 16, 2019
For a short story, this was a fun, quick read that was well done except for the editing issues. I was having enough fun reading this that I overlooked the poor editing. Alien men can be quite clueless, especially around a feisty Earth woman who isn't going to put up with anything she doesn't want to.
Profile Image for Jessica.
2,332 reviews23 followers
May 25, 2019
A lovely sweet short story

So as with the last book, there is some editing that needs to be done, I counted around 27spots that need some form of revision. Other than that, it was hilarious the level of cluelessness Naaraak suffered from. I'm glad that he got a sassy human female to set him straight.
Profile Image for Ash.
45 reviews
August 6, 2020
Needs to be proofread

Honestly a fun short story, but I gotta say, nothing quite kills the mood like someone curling up with their “armed” around their partner’s waist. Especially when that’s not the only error in the text. With a bit more proofreading, this could’ve been a keeper.
Profile Image for wellreadcorgi .
72 reviews
May 12, 2021
Such a fun adventure and truly made me giggle

This was a short read, but so much fun. I loved the heroine Nikki. She was a no nonsense type girl and I loved her ability to see things with him our and intelligence. This is the second book and I am starting the third after this review lol I highly recommend!
333 reviews5 followers
December 24, 2021
Great Read!

Nikki and Nazzek make an amazing couple. They compliment one another so well. Nikki was hilarious and I enjoyed the back and forth banter between her and Nazzek. Nazzek worried me in the beginning about his definition of being romantic but it was humorous and Nikki eventually set him straight. I would definitely recommend this book.
1,860 reviews3 followers
January 24, 2022
“What a Way to Go”

Entertaining Valentine’s Day romance by SJ Sanders.
Hearts of Indesh is the romantic, sexy tale of Nazzek and Niccki.
Nazzek is a rough, cocky, acquisitions expert who believes himself an expert on romance. Niccki is the human female he abducts as his mate. This SFR is funny (LOL hilarious in some parts). Very enjoyable.
Profile Image for Tina.
725 reviews6 followers
March 24, 2019
Hearts of Indesh

What a wonderful short sweet story. I really laughed out loud quite a few times. If you want a short quick story about love and romance 😉😉 then you will love this book. I would recommend this book.
Profile Image for Dena.
4,473 reviews12 followers
June 3, 2019
More

This was a cute story and I fell in love with the characters. I would have liked to see more about the planet. How did the integration go with the humans? I would have liked more and felt that the story was incomplete.
Profile Image for BobaFett114.
1,955 reviews3 followers
June 30, 2019
Sweet and quick read

This novella was cute and sweet. The H and h are perfect for each other. Yeah, yeah, I know it reads like bad Stockholm Syndrome, but it really is good. There are some typos, but it is worth the read.
Profile Image for Imee Benzon.
488 reviews21 followers
October 11, 2019
***Short and sweet***

This book is hilarious I loved it and I want more. I do hope that Medif and Oigr gets their own human females as well. Nazzek is hilarious and Nikki suits him perfectly.
105 reviews1 follower
October 20, 2019
I was not so entertained in a long time as from this book

I got to say that was one wacko hero, which made my day. The comical situations and unfortunate events were the cream of the cake. You need to read it for the laugh.
268 reviews2 followers
January 10, 2020
Quick

This was a lovely short romance with the male being crazy and quirky . The female took everything in stride and was very enduring. The side charactors were of note, I hope they get a story. A short very enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews

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