Forbidden Planet

Rise of the Gladiator #1

by Cheree Alsop

When Captain Nova Ardis acquires the services of a dangerous, tattooed gladiator, she knows she’s taking a risk—but she would do anything for family.

Kove has survived most of his life in the gladiator arena and now, on the eve of winning his freedom, he is sold once again. At least being the captain’s bodyguard shouldn’t be too hard compared to the bloody life he’s lived.

˃˃˃ Danger At Every Turn
When she takes him to the forbidden planet and embarks on a mission to rescue her brother, Kove will have to call upon all his skills to keep himself—and the woman he’s falling for—alive.

˃˃˃ The Rise of the Gladiator is a clean, action-packed space opera series that will have you on the edge of your seat!

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Ebooks, Space Opera, Romance, Action, Fiction

198 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 20, 2020

About the author

Cheree Alsop is an award-winning, best-selling author and the mother of a beautiful, talented daughter and amazing twin sons who fill every day with joy and laughter. She is married to her best friend, Michael, the light of her life and her soulmate who shares her dreams and inspires her by reading the first drafts of each book. Cheree is a fulltime author and mother, which is much more fun than work! She enjoys reading, riding her motorcycle on warm nights, and playing with her twins while planning her next book. She is also a bass player for their rock band, Alien Landslide.

Cheree and Michael live in Utah where they rock out, enjoy the outdoors, plan great adventures, and never stop dreaming.

Check out Cheree’s other books at www.chereealsop.com

Reviews

[Katrina]

DNF at 37%

Ok, here is the thing – and please keep in mind that this is my issue with this book (in 3 points):
1. Delivery/writing style - chapters alternate between Nova and Kove POW. That would not be to much of a problem for me if it as an only alternation, however Kove’s chapters are written in first person and Nova’s in third and that kind of constant change was annoying the bejesus out of me
2. From the start, we have a wide variety of characters thrown in with extremely vague definitions. 37% in to the book, and what I know of the crew members is that there are 2 girls, one old man with eye patch and a 4 – armed teenager who acts like overexcited puppy. Another character, Lady W is so over the top that I just kept rolling my eyes. Lots of superficial characters with zero development. Heck, I am still not even sure what to make of Nova because one moment she is a daring space Capitan who boldly battles and escapes pursuit and next she is a simpering, quivering, corset - clad ninny. And Kove, who, in accordance to the blurb is a:” dangerous, tattooed gladiator”, who:” survived most of his life in the gladiator arena”, who is constantly called “savage”, somehow acquired rather prissy morals and perfectly courtly manners (I understand that this is a “clean” romance, but I prefer my heroes a bit gritty, not sanitized)
3. For me, this book just could not decide that it wants to be. Reading it was like watching my granddaughter flutter between playing “doctor” and “cooking dinner” while wearing her Eliza gown with Batman cape – only a 3 ½ year-old can pull this off in the most ridiculously adorable and endearing way. This book did not.

[Netanella · Rating 2 out of 5]

I downloaded this is a Kindle freebie because I thought the cover had potential and I needed some good, old fashioned SF romance.

Unfortunately, this wasn't it. Don't get me wrong, the world-building was detailed and nuanced and intricate. But then, interspersed among an amazing universe are these WTF moments that just come out of left field. The biggest one is the entire romance between Nova, our pampered princess of her own star system, and Kove, our brutal gladiator with 44 kills under his heels (literally) but with a heart-of-gold that wouldn't hurt a flea. Nova spends most of her time wondering what to do, and then occasionally she grows a backbone and does something daring, like speak back. There are other elements, like the whole ballroom scene where Nova and Kove (who has to learn how to ball room dance) end up dressing like Jane Austin characters, complete with dance card hanging off of Nova's wrist. Ummm, what? In the space age, we still have dance cards?

Overall, the romance is vanilla, the characters are vanilla and borderline boring caricatures of themselves. I'm not into reading further in this series.

[Jamie Schulz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, my, what to say about this wonderful book. I haven't read a lot of sci-fi romance, but I plan on reading more of them after this book.
Kove captured my heart right off and Nova was a strong, interesting female character. I loved the chemistry between them and the constant push-pull going on with Kove and Nova. The secondary characters were also great. The twist near the end broke my heart and angered me, but redemption came quickly.
I loved this story so much that I purchased the second book in the continuing story and started reading immediately after finishing this book. I hope and suspect it will be as good as this one.
If you like sci-fi and romance, check out this heart-wrenching yet, eventually, heartwarmingly romantic story. I highly recommend it.

[Meche · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a fun book, I quite enjoyed the main characters, even though The scene with the kiss was a little bit cringy for me, but I thought their relationship was very well developed(as much as they could in such a short period of time) and they had moments where they truly had fun or shared their feelings.
I liked that she wasn't a badass that could do everything, but still, sometimes she was way too naive and the book didn't even hint that she had good ideas. Everything she did, went wrong, and if it wasn't for the ML, she would be dead in the first chapter. It was a compelling book, but the main character didn't convince me in any way. She says she is not useless, but I never saw that, she was always saved, she almost killed her crew, she didn't know she was betrayed twice, and she never thought that she should bring someone that actually knew how to fight to a dangerous mission. She was stupid and nothing proved otherwise, what did save her was her morals, which made her a little bit relatable

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing less than I would expect from so great an author

This wonderful book is the start of what I'm sure will be a marvellous adventure. And I am overjoyed to know the next book will be out in april

[Jenny Koch]

DNF @ 52%

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (11/20/2020)! 🎁

[Kove · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm giving this book 5 stars because I have never in my life come across a book with my name as a main character, which is amazing!

[Ann Manning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing storytelling!

This unbelievably imaginative space fantasy was definitely exciting from start to finish, amazing drama and suspense that keeps unraveling with every turn of the page. I can't wait till the next installment of a rollercoaster ride of adventure and intrigue in outer space!

[Eftihia Iliopoyloy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea is wonderful but it's lacking in the presentation

It started so good but. . .no.
It felt like I skipped pages ,like I missed something .
It bored me with meaningless conversations that sounded to immature for those characters .

[OneDayI'll · Rating 3 out of 5]

78%

I made it to 78% before putting it down. I just, I just don't understand what the goal is here. She's supposed to be rescuing her brother, he wants his freedom. What we're getting is a Victorian/Western/Gladiator/Sci-fi featuring a won't-take-medicine-but-I'll-get-falling-down-drunk betrayed gladiator who goes against his own self interests and a prudish captain/countess who has no idea what she's doing and won't ask for help.
*If society frowns on her being alone with a guy who's supposed to protect her why's it ok with him traveling on a ship with her? In space, no one can hear you scream.. lol.
*He was offered medication for his migraine/concussion, not illicit drugs which he's supposed to be against, but would rather drink? Which falls into the same category as drugs because it impairs judgement and movement.
*She's supposed to be rich, but ran off her planet with basically nothing. How's she affording ship fuel? Food for her crew? Medical supplies? Weapons and ammo? They're hopping all over the place.
*Why would she run to a dictator on a war torn planet for help?
*She thinks she's going to free her brother (of which we still don't know why/how/where he was taken and for what purpose) with a single pilot, a butler, a stable boy and a craggy old I don't know what? Oh. And a stolen gladiator and a rescued maid.
*His translation device was taken from him at the prison. How many languages does he know? Because apparently at the prisons he couldn't understand but half the people, but at this dive bar he can understand everyone.
*Why would they give him a priceless skull beetle (of which we still don't understand the interaction with the tattoos, where to find, or anything else) but not a new translator? Wouldn't they want the security guy to understand all threats coming at them?
*Why did he stay at the bar with his prize money? First rule of space bars, don't get caught alone. Second rule, never get drunk while in a situation that can go downhill fast. Thieves abound.

And that's where I gave up. There's no logic. He's supposed to be a veteran of war, of the arena, of life. But he keeps kneecapping himself for absolutely no reason. I have no idea who Nova really is as a person. We get no inner monologue, no interactions between her and her crew, barely any interaction with her newly acquired gladiator, and no background story. We know much more about him through his flashbacks and memories than her. But what we do see of him is contradictory and illogical. This needs a good editing and beta combing over. Plug the the plot holes, tweak the grammar, flesh out the backstory and character to pull them out of 2 dimensions and it's a fun premise. Everyone loves a good rescue mission story featuring underdogs. Tell us about the brother they're rescuing. Show us them making the decision to do so, fleeing into the skies with the castle help on a rickety ship. Show us them trying to get weapons and learning to fight. Show us learning who their allies and enemies are, finding friends, stumbling into thieves and learning how to survive in this new environment. Give us a chance to bond with the characters and sympathize for them, want to root them on, care about what happens to them.

[Carly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like space opera as a subgenre within the science fiction field, and I love well written space opera. This book comes close with its amazing cover art but not close enough to be a good bit of space opera. I like it primarily because of the male lead, Kove (Gladiator Kovak). But I don’t love it.

At 48% completion I had to speed up my reading pace. While Kove was a fantastical hero (yeah, dreamy even), the female lead, Nova, was almost an antithesis to him. Nova, the countess/spaceship’s captain, was weak, small-minded, and ridiculously rude. She often thought about apologizing for her rudeness, yet somehow couldn't bring herself to apologize out loud. She isn’t very nice. The plot was interesting, but did not play out well and midway, I had to speed up because it became boring. Space opera is many things, but never boring…at least, it shouldn’t be.

There were the usual typographical errors, but not many grammatical ones, which was pleasant. There were a number of oddly worded sentences, however. For example:
“…anything they believed would far less scandalous than the truth.” Wait…what…?
“…but we’ve both had been through a whole lot….” Odd way of saying they’d both been through a lot.
“…I’m a whole lot more willing to carrying out your crazy plan….” More willing to carry out, perhaps?

The book begins beautifully; it is Kove speaking, or thinking: “I was no stranger to death. She and I had danced to her melancholic tune more times than I cared to count. I had become hypersensitive to the notes of her lullaby.” Delicious, eh…? Spiced with dangerous adventure. I couldn’t wait to dive in and find out more about this melancholy gladiator. And he did not disappoint.

I wanted so badly for Kove to have a worthy female. I wanted Nova to step up and show her mettle, to develop a backbone to support falling in love with such a strong, dynamic man. Alas, she was written to be a marshmallow, full of fluff without substance. While I liked Kove and his rituals, some deeply touching, I could not sanction his falling for such a shallow Nova.

I would love to read more about Kove, but I’m not going to. The book ended with so many loose ends that it is almost a cliffhanger, which I despise within any genre. Cliffhangers are devices used by crass and classless writers who want their readers to Buy.More.Books. Fortunately I am blessed with a fertile imagination and I’ve already gotten rid of the faithless Nova and imagined a feisty, tall, muscled in her own right, space pirate of a woman who rescues Kove from Nova’s ship. They go on to have some wonderful adventures worthy of fine opera within the forbidden planets. What a shame this writer couldn’t do the same with her talents. Nope. No more of her books for me.

Forbidden Planet deserves its 2-star rating for being a dissatisfying read when it could have been so, so good...!

[K.J. Harrowick · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I Loved

This book’s concept was unlike anything I’ve read in a very long time. Alsop brilliantly wove the grit and gore of a gladiator arena with a highly technological universe of species and starships, all wrapped in the culture of royals, courts and balls. The trifecta of these three tropes slid together so seamlessly it was surprising I haven’t run into it before.

The main character of Kove is brilliant and deep, and yet underneath his hardcore exterior is a man who has held onto his human qualities.

Also…

ALSO… the magic system between the skull beetles and Smiren tattoos was absolutely incredible. I could have read an entire dictionary just on this magic system. I loved it and want more!
The Romance

This part of the plot started off strong – boy meets girl, unusual attraction, and the attempt to learn more and try to trust this stranger.

However, toward the end of the story the romance unraveled in a big way. Clicking spoiler will give away a big piece of the romance.

*******SPOILER (You've been warned)*******
WHYYYYYYY? The romance was growing stronger, the characters were really starting to trust one another, and I was all ready to see how they ended up together.

But then THE LOVE INTEREST SOLD THE MAIN CHARACTER.

This is a man who has been in prison his whole life, and instead of making a “plan” with the main character, she just dumps him on a prison world.

Now, I might have been okay with this if the two characters had talked about this and come up with the shitty plan… but nothing was said. She just DUMPED him.

To me, that was an unforgivable act, even if she did turn around and go back. Anyways…. enough bittering.

Why this book lost some stars

I loved this story…. I loved the concept. But sadly the romance wasn’t the only thing that fell apart.

One of the biggest struggles I had with this story is how much the author jumped scenes with no warning. The story started strong, but then about a quarter of the way through the book, the characters began jumping from one location to another mid-chapter with no warning.

This was really frustrating during the ball when the two lovers were just starting to get cozy, then bam, next line they’re on a starship and a whole bunch of events have happened.

This was also really unnerving when Nova makes plans to sneak out one of the maids to her starship, and then all of this is skipped over until several chapters later when she pops into existence on the starship.

This was absolutely the biggest frustration for me with the story. Everything was so gorgeous, and skipping over these bits made it feel like an unfinished story. It just needed more fleshing out to even the pacing.

Overall

Even with some of the larger problems this story had, I still enjoyed the hell out of it. In fact, I already have book 2 on my kindle and I hope some of the pacing issues are smoothed out.

If you’re looking for a gritty space romance that spends more time doing gladiator killings than smooching, this story is for you. It’s a clean read, medium heat, and I’ve got my fingers crossed that book 2 has some damn heat between these lovers.

[Frances Law · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most enjoyable.

Good sci-fi. Imperious Kovak Sunder (Kove), a gladiator slave of the Bavarian Star System, was one fight away from obtaining his freedom when his owner sold him away to a prison planet to fight there as a gladiator for the rest of his life.
Lady Nova Ardis Loreander is the daughter of ruler of the Loreander System. She is on a quest to save her brother.
She buys Kove but doesn’t know how much she can trust the dirty, tattooed fighter who is an important part of her plan.
She has a ragtag crew on an old ship that is practically falling apart which makes one wonder what has been going on in her home system. She says at one point that she has left someone reliable at home to run things so I would have expected her to be better prepared and provisioned for her task.
Kove is so happy to be away from the hell hole that was Roan Seven that he is determined to be the best bodyguard he could be. He quickly cleaned himself up to the point that nobody recognised him at first but there were still crew who just didn’t trust him. Little did he know of the treachery and danger ahead that they would all face and the biggest danger was Nova and Kove starting to know and like one another.
A good beginning to a new series.

[Volpot · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I finished, but barely. This is a bizarre mix of fantasy, romance, and science fiction; with the science fiction the least of the three. The setting was not well done or plausible. There's this universe (not galaxy) with most of it governed by some kind of monarchy/nobility. The "nobles" of this entire universe somehow all know one another by sight and the characters just hop from one planet to another while only seeing a few people at each location. Then there are the many different species of "people" who are all physiologically different yet somehow compatible with one another. Into this setting, the MC "countess" is embarked on a quest to save her brother and devises a plan to use a gladiator. Because, you see, the entire universe is fascinated by gladiators battling it out with swords in various arenas. It just all made no sense. This book would have been better if it had simply been presented as a sort of historical fantasy set in a simple kingdom. I'm not reading the sequels.

[WyoGal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Violence mixed in with sweet romance

Throw a slice-and-dice gladiator into an historical PG romance with Lords and Ladies and ballroom dancing, and toss in some aliens and a spaceship, and blend. That’s the kind of story this is. Not too much science in the sci-fi, not too much world building—just enough to add body and layering—and not too much secondary character development. The crew is present, some aliens, a bad-guy character or two, and there are missing family members. The story mostly features the gladiator and the Lady as they get to know each other while on random stops on a journey through space where the gladiator gets to kill and show skill. There is character development, but they attempt to cope with feelings by cutting, which is not a healthy habit. There are several implausible moments and throwback slang terms and words only relevant to earthlings that pull the reader from the text, but the story is interesting enough to keep the pages turning.

[C.S. Wachter · Rating 4 out of 5]

While considering whether to add this book to my KU reading list, I read several of the one-star reviews. But since it was on KU I decided to check it out despite the negative comments on the writing. Yes, the writing was weak in places and could have used a good edit, but I was glad I chose to read Forbidden Planet—Rise of the Gladiator despite the harsh reviews.

The story quickly pulled me in, and as it progressed, I found it easy to overlook any errors in the writing. I enjoyed Nova and Kove’s budding relationship. Kove’s intensity and ability to rise above the circumstances to survive against the odds touched me. The secondary characters rounded out the tale and the hints at a growing plot kept me turning pages.

If you don’t allow yourself to get bogged down in editing details, consider giving this book a read. I found it enjoyable and will immediately plunge into book 2 of this series.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Needed This Book

Thank you Cheree. Its been a rough year as you and everyone else knows. After going insane with cabin fever and "The New Normal", I kinda almost pulled it together enough to focus on looking for a book to read. Reading any kind of love anything was a NO GO! Couldn't stand My Baby, you understand. He was driving me up the wall an I him. Well, I'm a bit more leveled out, we're back to loving each other, all damn day long, lol. So since I can tolerate books with romance again, your book was perfect for the moment.

No spoilers here, just know that the premise actually coincides with the story written. It is decently paced, well written in my opinion, and most of all enjoyable. Oh, and it'll get you over a what do I read next hump.

[Denisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute Space Opera.


**overall series review**

So, I started this series hoping to find something really cool that could get me out of this annoying book funk I'm having.

No luck.

Anyway, the series, yes. It's a pretty nice, fast-paced space opera. It's your typical story: girl meets boy, love stuff, drama, boom, blood, slavery, good-guys-win, and happily ever after. The world-builder is decent, the writing style is good, and the characters are good enough. It's the kind of series I'd read if I were where this lady is:


Is this a life-altering, world-changing book? Nope, but I wasn't looking for one.
It's a break in the day, a slice of yummy pizza, and yes, kinda forgettable. But it's worth a try if you're looking for a short, fast-paced, SF Opera series.

[Kelly Barki]

I am not usually a fan of space odyssey, but I live gladiators and so I have this a try, and I am SUCH a fan now!! The characters were believable, the conversations (both internal and external) were excellent and often very humorous. I have probably only critiqued five or six recent books, but I felt that this one deserved more praise than I have seen. I am usually a three or four star kind of reviewer, but I am giving this one a five star. I have already purchased the second book, and I’m excited to start it immediately!!

[Linda C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captain Nova Ardis bought a condemned gladiator, Kovak Sunder, from a prison planet. Kovak thinks he is to provide security but is not really given any information. It gradually becomes apparent that the agenda is more complex than appears on the surface. His life has been at someone's beck and call since he was very small. He begins to feel useful and respected. Nova and her motley crew have a loose plan that doesn't become apparent until well into the story. This was well done. I am very interested in seeing where this will go in future volumes.

[M.J. Copeland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book.
Fantasy, violence and a surprise plotline that combine to deliver a neatly coherent story.
Humans are fascinating to me and trying to discern motivations and inspirations are rarely accurate. The combination of non-humans with their specific drives make this a fun, easy-to-read Sci-Fi story.
It’s a quick and tumultuous ride and I recommend it to readers ready for a change of scenery and some intriguing new characters.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

A fun, space opera adventure in a sort of Flash Gordon kind of way. Light, "clean" romance. Battles with knives and blood. I would personally put a YA tag on this story.

Sadly, the edition of the book I had needed a final edit. Things like "due" instead of "do," or misquotes like escaping by the "edge of your teeth" instead of "skin of your teeth." A couple of layout problems too. A reader can really be pulled out of the story when these types of problems occur.

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Space opera

I really wasn't expecting much. But I really did enjoy all the action and even the romantic undertones. From the words of John Eldrige:
" Deep in his heart every man longs for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to
rescue." This book pretty much was " every mans" wish.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than I expected it would be, from the description and the fact that it was free, and I did read the whole thing, but not what I'd call good as such--bearing in mind that romance, even space romance, is not my usual genre. The characters were inconsistent, the prose adequate but unpolished, the plot... existed. It passed the time, and I will pass on reading any more in this series.

[John Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Fun Ride...

This is a romance novel with a healthy dollop of space opera thrown in for flavor. It isn’t *terrible*, and it’s written well enough. If you like this sort of thing, it won’t disappoint.

It’s the first in a series, but the story concludes well enough that you aren’t forced to buy the rest. I wouldn’t blame you if you did, though.

[Rhane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This just kept getting better

There are times in any action fantasy when I could do with less exposition, but this moves along pretty quickly and ends in a satisfying hook to the next book in the series. I’m sorry that this wasn’t an omnibus edition with the whole story at hand. I long to read how Kove and Nova finally get together.

[Aurora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

What a ride!!
First time reading anything from this author and I’m blown away! There wasn’t a single part of this book that I wasn’t absorbed in. Loved Kovak and Nova! I’m not huge into series over the same couples (I like seeing different couples in series…not that Kovak and Nova are a couple at this point) but I’m hooked!
Look forward to reading more on this series.

[c. anne ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok so don’t mind the cover.

i really enjoyed this book!! sometimes i felt like we were drifting but that feeling passed soon - all the action is SO FUN and i adore the characters!! kovak especially.

excited to continue the story!

[S.V. Farnsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic fun!

Yet again this author has impressed me. Of course, that means I'm hooked on another series. Oh, well, at least there are several books ahead of me without waiting. Great read!