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Dark World Mates #1
Heart's Prisoner
He's not like anything Lana has ever encountered.
Asset X: Massive, deadly, a little terrifying to say the least. A devilish warrior. And a killer. Captured on a hellish world after attacking a military campsite and now imprisoned in a state-of-the-art cell inside one of the military’s top bases--Lazris.
And Lana has been assigned to "study" him. To learn his secrets and gain his trust, if he is ever allowed to set foot out of his cell. As a top behaviorist, it is the biggest hurdle of her career.
Asset X--or Xerus as he is called--won't give up his secrets easily. He is difficult, elusive, and--dare she say--unfathomably alluring...despite his seething demeanor and hard, frightening physique.
Something subconsciously draws her to him. Something wildly irresistible. Even if his wicked smile and needful gaze could just be a ploy to win her trust and escape his cell.
She shouldn't think of him like that. He is an alien after all. And possibly their enemy.
For Xerus claims he is on a mission. A mission to destroy. And he cannot afford to fail. If he dares let Lana get close, dares open his cold heart to her, she could compromise everything.
Heart's Prisoner is a complete standalone novel in the Dark World Mates series, a universe teeming with ferocious aliens and brave heroines. This book contains dark tones, heated intimate scenes, and intense moments with possible triggers including violence, and is intended for mature readers.
Asset X: Massive, deadly, a little terrifying to say the least. A devilish warrior. And a killer. Captured on a hellish world after attacking a military campsite and now imprisoned in a state-of-the-art cell inside one of the military’s top bases--Lazris.
And Lana has been assigned to "study" him. To learn his secrets and gain his trust, if he is ever allowed to set foot out of his cell. As a top behaviorist, it is the biggest hurdle of her career.
Asset X--or Xerus as he is called--won't give up his secrets easily. He is difficult, elusive, and--dare she say--unfathomably alluring...despite his seething demeanor and hard, frightening physique.
Something subconsciously draws her to him. Something wildly irresistible. Even if his wicked smile and needful gaze could just be a ploy to win her trust and escape his cell.
She shouldn't think of him like that. He is an alien after all. And possibly their enemy.
For Xerus claims he is on a mission. A mission to destroy. And he cannot afford to fail. If he dares let Lana get close, dares open his cold heart to her, she could compromise everything.
Heart's Prisoner is a complete standalone novel in the Dark World Mates series, a universe teeming with ferocious aliens and brave heroines. This book contains dark tones, heated intimate scenes, and intense moments with possible triggers including violence, and is intended for mature readers.
299 pages, ebook
First published July 18, 2020
530 people are currently reading
3954 people want to read
About the author
Olivia Riley
12 books535 followersOlivia loves the dark possibilities of space; of ferocious aliens and brave heroines. She writes sci-fi, horror, and fantasy.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 745 reviews
February 16, 2024
Olivia Riley is becoming one of my favorite sci/fi alien authors. Her writing and world building are spectacular.
Things I Loved
📌strong FMC
📌alien that is really alien
📌slow burn-enemies to lovers
📌language barrier
📌different cultures and both learn each others customs
Spice Rating
1.75/5 🌶️
It needed another spicy scene and I**the readers needed to know if his package was scaly and if it was a darker shade than his body 🤭 this author definitely puts more into the world building versus the smut. Don’t get me wrong it’s HOT but it’s not overly descriptive.
Overall thoughts: I definitely would recommend this author and book!! In most alien romances the fated mated and insta love tropes are most used and it can be tiring. This is a slowwww burn and I loved seeing them get to know each other while also learning each other’s culture.
Things I Loved
📌strong FMC
📌alien that is really alien
📌slow burn-enemies to lovers
📌language barrier
📌different cultures and both learn each others customs
Spice Rating
1.75/5 🌶️
It needed another spicy scene and I**the readers needed to know if his package was scaly and if it was a darker shade than his body 🤭 this author definitely puts more into the world building versus the smut. Don’t get me wrong it’s HOT but it’s not overly descriptive.
Overall thoughts: I definitely would recommend this author and book!! In most alien romances the fated mated and insta love tropes are most used and it can be tiring. This is a slowwww burn and I loved seeing them get to know each other while also learning each other’s culture.
October 29, 2024
*4.5* This is heavier sci-fi with romance tossed in near the end. Dr. Lana Hart has been brought to Lazarus, military's top security and research facility, in the hope she can learn more about a captured alien.
Xerus is over 7 feet tall, has red scales, and a wide mouth full of sharp teeth. All attempts to communicate with him have failed.
Xerus cocked his head slightly as he watched her through the glass. His tail, which had been motionless only a second before, began to lazily sway behind him.
Sci-fi romance
Alien looking aliens
He smells like coffee
Strong fmc
Detailed world building
Graphic torture and violence
Slight language barrier
HFN
“Lazris was built on the planet known as LV012 approximately 2 miles under its surface. Made from thick titanium steel, Lazris is the most secure base in our governing system.”
Ah yes, just like the beginning of a movie when the viewer is lulled into a false sense of security. Riiiight before the slimy aliens appear and jump out of your chest cavity.
Anyway…
Lana isn’t the traditional damsel in distress, her character is strong, makes the sound decisions, and has a gentle heart. The initial scenes between Lana and Xerus were written well.
The story really takes off around the 45% mark. I wish their relationship had developed a little slower, somewhat surprising to say in a book that is a very slow burn.
Also, considering his fangs, scales, tail, and horns, it felt a missed opportunity that their intimacy was fairly human-like and tame.
Xerus bared his fangs, a low growl ripping from his throat. "Isha xi ess," he hissed.
Lana understood the words.
She's mine.
So while the story isn’t perfect, it does check off most of the sci-fi human/alien romance boxes. I liked it much better on a reread.
Xerus is over 7 feet tall, has red scales, and a wide mouth full of sharp teeth. All attempts to communicate with him have failed.
Xerus cocked his head slightly as he watched her through the glass. His tail, which had been motionless only a second before, began to lazily sway behind him.
Sci-fi romance
Alien looking aliens
He smells like coffee
Strong fmc
Detailed world building
Graphic torture and violence
Slight language barrier
HFN
“Lazris was built on the planet known as LV012 approximately 2 miles under its surface. Made from thick titanium steel, Lazris is the most secure base in our governing system.”
Ah yes, just like the beginning of a movie when the viewer is lulled into a false sense of security. Riiiight before the slimy aliens appear and jump out of your chest cavity.
Anyway…
Lana isn’t the traditional damsel in distress, her character is strong, makes the sound decisions, and has a gentle heart. The initial scenes between Lana and Xerus were written well.
The story really takes off around the 45% mark. I wish their relationship had developed a little slower, somewhat surprising to say in a book that is a very slow burn.
Also, considering his fangs, scales, tail, and horns, it felt a missed opportunity that their intimacy was fairly human-like and tame.
Xerus bared his fangs, a low growl ripping from his throat. "Isha xi ess," he hissed.
Lana understood the words.
She's mine.
So while the story isn’t perfect, it does check off most of the sci-fi human/alien romance boxes. I liked it much better on a reread.
April 21, 2021
Audio 5 Stars Maxine Mitchell is on my short list of absolute favorite female narrators! Love her male as well as her female voice!!!
Story - 5 Took me be surprise Stars!!
Unless Olivia Riley uses another pen name, this was one hell of an impressive debut.
The story is definitely more plot than smut, but it makes the relationship development that much more believable. There is no insta/primal attraction. If anything, the heroine is a bit creeped out by the hero when they first meet. Hell, even I was creeped out by him when he's first introduced into the story.
The story is gritty, raw, and dark with lots of violence. I LOVED IT. At times the romance seemed to take a backseat, but when it does happen, it's absolutely wonderful. I can read this kind of scifi romance nonstop!
Story - 5 Took me be surprise Stars!!
Unless Olivia Riley uses another pen name, this was one hell of an impressive debut.
The story is definitely more plot than smut, but it makes the relationship development that much more believable. There is no insta/primal attraction. If anything, the heroine is a bit creeped out by the hero when they first meet. Hell, even I was creeped out by him when he's first introduced into the story.
The story is gritty, raw, and dark with lots of violence. I LOVED IT. At times the romance seemed to take a backseat, but when it does happen, it's absolutely wonderful. I can read this kind of scifi romance nonstop!
October 2, 2020
Omg, y'all! I. LOVED. THIS! New favorite alien romance right here!
Do you enjoy alien romances, but feel like you have to sift through so many duds to find a good one? Not a huge fan of the insta-love, insta-lust, or insta-mate tropes that seem to happen in these types of novels and instead craving more build up between the main couple? Want a hero who is verrrrry not human and honestly pretty terrifying looking (and therefore activates ye ol' fear kink)? Well, LOOK NO FURTHER!
I absolutely devoured this book in less than 24 hours; it was everything I've been looking for in a sci-fi romance, and I AM BEGGING the author to write many, many more books (I almost cried when I realized this was a debut and that there isn't a backlist for me to go through).
The only tiiiiny thing I wanted more of was the sexy times! Don't get me wrong, the main sexy time scene we got was A+++, but that's why I was then craving more. Now, in the author's defense, I don't know if any amount of steam would've been "enough" for me, because Xerus is definitely my favorite alien hero I've read to date, and I could read another dozen books of him and Lana and still not think it was enough. Olivia Riley has already become an insta-read author for me, and I'm so excited to see what she comes up with next!
Do you enjoy alien romances, but feel like you have to sift through so many duds to find a good one? Not a huge fan of the insta-love, insta-lust, or insta-mate tropes that seem to happen in these types of novels and instead craving more build up between the main couple? Want a hero who is verrrrry not human and honestly pretty terrifying looking (and therefore activates ye ol' fear kink)? Well, LOOK NO FURTHER!
I absolutely devoured this book in less than 24 hours; it was everything I've been looking for in a sci-fi romance, and I AM BEGGING the author to write many, many more books (I almost cried when I realized this was a debut and that there isn't a backlist for me to go through).
The only tiiiiny thing I wanted more of was the sexy times! Don't get me wrong, the main sexy time scene we got was A+++, but that's why I was then craving more. Now, in the author's defense, I don't know if any amount of steam would've been "enough" for me, because Xerus is definitely my favorite alien hero I've read to date, and I could read another dozen books of him and Lana and still not think it was enough. Olivia Riley has already become an insta-read author for me, and I'm so excited to see what she comes up with next!
April 14, 2025
I really enjoyed this one a lot I did have some minor nitpicks but overall I was seriously impressed with this and is this a debut author? because if it is then I’m even more blown away with the quality of this sci-fi alien romance. This definitely stands out from the crowd it’s unique with such a different vibe to what’s currently on offer out there.
This takes place on a research planet in a state of the art military science facility. It’s a huge self-contained space built underground over twelve floors. Lana is a doctor a behaviourist who specialises in the study of alien life forms, shes assigned to the classified floor 12 where her newest patient or Asset-X as he is referred to resides.
He is one of many specimens housed on this floor but Lana’s sole patient, he is deemed highly dangerous and hostile and Lana is the latest in a line of behaviourists assigned to him. Asset-X or Xerus as he is known is of Alien origin he’s a 7ft 2 biped reptilian with spikes and horns demonic-looking with some interesting extra abilities like mimicry. He’s kept securely in a reinforced titanium steel electro-charged enclosure and the whole facility is super secure with armed guards and special clearances.
This is alien sci-fi romance, it’s all very slow-burn in fact the first half of this was more about building the plot and setting the stage and it had much more of a sci-fi with romance vibe rather than the romance being the central thing of interest. It’s also definitely much more plot led than romance led, we do get our sexy times but it’s much later on and isn’t the only focus. Also considering this story is confined to the facility itself you’d think it would get monotonous and boring but it didn’t. Especially when events started to take-off and everything imploded then it really was edge of your seat stuff.
I only have a few minor niggles and they really are small things, First Lana herself could be a bit soft and naive. She is easily intimidated and cowed by words and doesn’t really read between the lines. Instead of looking at Xerus’s past actions towards her and judging him by those standards, she takes what is verbally said and just runs with that.
I mean even I could see what he was doing here being cruel and scary to protect her but she couldn’t. Thats why I think it was so brave and courageous when she did step out of her box her going against her inert nature and fear kind of proved her devotion to him. I just wished she’d been a bit less girly earlier on and just gone with her gut.
This was also sole POV Lana’s and bar the epilogue we get no input from Xerus. I do think dual POV would have moved this up a level. The slow burn was fine and it did work but some added connections earlier in the story would have again improved this overall. It did take a while to get to that part of this and I was wondering at one point if there was even going to be any romance thankfully there was and it did work.
Finally the epilogue I would have liked one slightly further along the timeline and on Xerus’s planet rather than the spaceship.I’m hoping as this series goes forward and I’m definitely on board here that we get a chance to visit his planet and learn more about Xerus culture and people.
I loved Xerus he was fabulous and my favourite part of this, this story is worth reading solely for him alone. I’m definitely on board for the next book and highly recommend this I enjoyed it a lot. This managed to enthral and capture my attention so easily its a thumbs up from me.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com
April 14, 2023
Unexpectedly good alien romance thriller!
The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💚🖤💙❤️💜
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍
Character development: ☺️😮🙂🥰😘
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Solo Narration
The heroine: Dr. Lana Heart - She worked on Tanis Base L3Z where she had lived for 4 years now. She works in a lab as a researcher. Lana was the one that convinced the race of Gita on the planet to allow them to test and study their race, to see how they evolved. The testing is completely volunteer and they study them by communication only not by holding them captive, cutting and dissecting or anything like that. Lana is approached by a friend to research a new race, one that is not so peaceful or willing to be studied. They are housed at the military base on Lazris. A top security and research facility.
The Hero: Asset X (Xerus) - a vicious killer, an assassin who is on a mission to destroy. He is highly intelligent and has been trained well. He has been challenging to the therapists on Lazris and caused two of them to quit already. His looks are as fierce and dangerous as he is.
The Story: Lana took two months after agreeing to the job, before she was off to Lazris. She read up on the Assets as much as she could on the way there, there were several different alien races held their. Asset X was of the highest threat level at the base (other high threats were a group of Raptors, a creature that would pretend to be asleep and then grab its prey and eat it alive-slowly). Asset X was reptilian, poisonous, 7 feet tall and a weaponized military team had to be on stand by when someone was interacting with him.
I have read quite a few stories before where the alien or paranormal being is in a situation like this, either being experimented on or studied in some way, though this story was a bit different, where they are doing my psychoanalysis than anything else. Though the military seems to have some alternate agenda and is seeing it as more of an interrogation than what Lana thinks it is.
I liked the difference though like always, there were men that think of Xerus as an it instead of a him. I don’t know why they can’t see sentient beings as anything but animals in so many books like this, but I suppose it is true to life and that would be how things really would happen.
The story got better as it got more mysterious. There were very strange things going on at the base, and nobody was talking about it in other than whispers, but if I were Lana, I would have been freaking out at some of the things she saw there. This story got better and better as it went along and I was on the edge of my seat through much of it. I was pleasantly surprised since this was an author I hadn’t heard of before.
This book was told in Solo narration which I don’t usually like, though it was the first book in a series so I decided to listen to it anyways. Maxine Mitchell did the narration and she always does a good job. She has a pleasant voice which is strong and clear, yet feminine and she has this way of portraying fear and anxiety through her voice so well.
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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
The heroine: Dr. Lana Heart - She worked on Tanis Base L3Z where she had lived for 4 years now. She works in a lab as a researcher. Lana was the one that convinced the race of Gita on the planet to allow them to test and study their race, to see how they evolved. The testing is completely volunteer and they study them by communication only not by holding them captive, cutting and dissecting or anything like that. Lana is approached by a friend to research a new race, one that is not so peaceful or willing to be studied. They are housed at the military base on Lazris. A top security and research facility.
The Hero: Asset X (Xerus) - a vicious killer, an assassin who is on a mission to destroy. He is highly intelligent and has been trained well. He has been challenging to the therapists on Lazris and caused two of them to quit already. His looks are as fierce and dangerous as he is.
The Story: Lana took two months after agreeing to the job, before she was off to Lazris. She read up on the Assets as much as she could on the way there, there were several different alien races held their. Asset X was of the highest threat level at the base (other high threats were a group of Raptors, a creature that would pretend to be asleep and then grab its prey and eat it alive-slowly). Asset X was reptilian, poisonous, 7 feet tall and a weaponized military team had to be on stand by when someone was interacting with him.
I have read quite a few stories before where the alien or paranormal being is in a situation like this, either being experimented on or studied in some way, though this story was a bit different, where they are doing my psychoanalysis than anything else. Though the military seems to have some alternate agenda and is seeing it as more of an interrogation than what Lana thinks it is.
I liked the difference though like always, there were men that think of Xerus as an it instead of a him. I don’t know why they can’t see sentient beings as anything but animals in so many books like this, but I suppose it is true to life and that would be how things really would happen.
The story got better as it got more mysterious. There were very strange things going on at the base, and nobody was talking about it in other than whispers, but if I were Lana, I would have been freaking out at some of the things she saw there. This story got better and better as it went along and I was on the edge of my seat through much of it. I was pleasantly surprised since this was an author I hadn’t heard of before.
This book was told in Solo narration which I don’t usually like, though it was the first book in a series so I decided to listen to it anyways. Maxine Mitchell did the narration and she always does a good job. She has a pleasant voice which is strong and clear, yet feminine and she has this way of portraying fear and anxiety through her voice so well.
Blog|Goodreads|Facebook|Instagram|Twitter|BookBub
June 30, 2021
1.5 stars
The premise with a human behaviorist analyzing a beastly alien captive was interesting especially since this wasn't a fated mate instalove kind of romance. The couple had time to get to know each other.
Unfortunately, the execution lacked everything that could have made this an appealing book.
Problem areas:
- the narration. 3rd person is fine, but the whole thing felt stilted. The voice sounded droning especially since there was a lot of infodumping
- Lana. She's a dumb idealist. As in, she genuinely does not grasp what happens to prisoners of war, even though she is a part of the whole process. She is also blissfully unaware of past human atrocities and genocides, in a way that only Americans can be
- the cringy, neverending dialogues: despite the narration fast forwarding several times, it never does when the grating dialogues between Lana and her coworkers, bosses, guards, doctors etc. are going down. She talks a lot, and we have to witness all of it. On the plus side, we find out how dumb and prejudiced everyone is, but on the other hand, they remain so cartoonish (especially the one lecherous guard - you know the type!) that you can't take them seriously as characters. Also, Lana also comes across as ridiculously ignorant in most of her dialogues
- the behaviorist sessions: either Lana is a terrible bahviorist, or the author does not understand what a behaviorist does. In one instance, Lana questions whether Xerus has self-awareness (while showing him a mirror). As if ... speech wasn't one of the most decisive indicators that Xerus has self-awareness. Then again, Lana does look at herself in the mirror, and she sure as hell has no self-awareness, so ...
- the romance, or lack thereof. What was that? I'm all for talking it out and taking it slow, but in this case, I just saw a woman become infatuated with her pet project. As for Xerus, he has Stockholm's for a dumb weakling who prodded him a little less than the rest of them did. Whatever that is, it's not love
I don't think I'll check out the rest of this series.
The premise with a human behaviorist analyzing a beastly alien captive was interesting especially since this wasn't a fated mate instalove kind of romance. The couple had time to get to know each other.
Unfortunately, the execution lacked everything that could have made this an appealing book.
Problem areas:
- the narration. 3rd person is fine, but the whole thing felt stilted. The voice sounded droning especially since there was a lot of infodumping
- Lana. She's a dumb idealist. As in, she genuinely does not grasp what happens to prisoners of war, even though she is a part of the whole process. She is also blissfully unaware of past human atrocities and genocides, in a way that only Americans can be
- the cringy, neverending dialogues: despite the narration fast forwarding several times, it never does when the grating dialogues between Lana and her coworkers, bosses, guards, doctors etc. are going down. She talks a lot, and we have to witness all of it. On the plus side, we find out how dumb and prejudiced everyone is, but on the other hand, they remain so cartoonish (especially the one lecherous guard - you know the type!) that you can't take them seriously as characters. Also, Lana also comes across as ridiculously ignorant in most of her dialogues
- the behaviorist sessions: either Lana is a terrible bahviorist, or the author does not understand what a behaviorist does. In one instance, Lana questions whether Xerus has self-awareness (while showing him a mirror). As if ... speech wasn't one of the most decisive indicators that Xerus has self-awareness. Then again, Lana does look at herself in the mirror, and she sure as hell has no self-awareness, so ...
- the romance, or lack thereof. What was that? I'm all for talking it out and taking it slow, but in this case, I just saw a woman become infatuated with her pet project. As for Xerus, he has Stockholm's for a dumb weakling who prodded him a little less than the rest of them did. Whatever that is, it's not love
I don't think I'll check out the rest of this series.
February 19, 2023
I really enjoyed this one!
I loved the vibe of this book had-it had a dark, gritty, trapped in space storyline-and a enemies to lovers kind of romance- with interesting characters and a slow build.
I always have fun reading sci-fi romances with human women and alien H's- but I also thought the plot and background was well written.
Check this one out if you have KU!
I loved the vibe of this book had-it had a dark, gritty, trapped in space storyline-and a enemies to lovers kind of romance- with interesting characters and a slow build.
I always have fun reading sci-fi romances with human women and alien H's- but I also thought the plot and background was well written.
Check this one out if you have KU!
August 3, 2020
Unusual, clever, dark, sexy and romantic.....
I found another favourite author, yeeeyyy!!!
April 21, 2021
Gah!!! I fucking loved this book!!! The MCs and relationship development was on point! No simpering, weak, annoying heroine in this story. Lana was strong and protective of her Alien. This is one MFR book that didn't waste my fucking time.
5+++++++++++++ stars audio and story!
5+++++++++++++ stars audio and story!
March 31, 2025
Where is Ripley when you need her?
Not here.
This book has Lana, a military-affiliated behaviorist specializing in alien species. I was expecting someone intelligent, self-possessed, intuitive, confident, and resourceful. Lana…is not. Lana is a bit of a naive dim bulb who thinks scientifically inclined thoughts such as this, when she first meets her new alien specimen:
Xerus stood in the center of the room and all Lana could think was what Jacob and Torrence had told her was true. He was evil-looking.
An astute observation honed by years of education and training it was not. Lana is a little short on astute observations, doesn’t question anything an 8-year-old child would have endless questions about, accepts as fact everything she is told, spends a lot of time distressed and crying even before the base station falls into hellish chaos, then walks into danger without weapons or a plan, requires constant rescuing, and only remains alive by sheer luck.
Once. Once she actually showed a modicum of courage and a spark of intelligence. I needed more.
I also needed better writing. This was comic book-level, and suffered from misused words (“weary” instead of “wary,” “passed” instead of “past”), poor grammar, poor phrasing, improper punctuation, and proofreading errors. As for the science fiction elements, they weren’t horrendously bad but Asimov and Bradbury can rest easy.
On the plus side—and heavily weighted my star rating—this book grabbed my attention and didn’t let go. This was an imaginative, engrossing story with action propelling it forward at all times. Sometimes the action skewed unbelievable (the big battle towards the end at the city level, for instance) but most of the time it was well-described, tense and gripping, and carried me along with it.
Also on the plus side: Xerus. He’s big, he’s red, he’s scaly, he’s horny—literally—and I want him to look exactly as pictured on the cover of this book. He’s also smart, intense, really hard to kill, resourceful, and heroically protective of Lana. He’s also delusional about her:
"A queen is chosen for her strength and bravery. For her cunning and ability to endure." Xerus stated.
Which, if a guy can be this blinded by love, I say thumbs up. He’s a keeper.
I really enjoyed this book in spite of the weak heroine and writing. It was the break I needed from same-old, same-old and I thank Izzah for the recommendation and both Lori and Izzah for the fun buddy read! Anytime you’ve got a big old lizard with a hard head and a soft heart, count me in!
Not here.
This book has Lana, a military-affiliated behaviorist specializing in alien species. I was expecting someone intelligent, self-possessed, intuitive, confident, and resourceful. Lana…is not. Lana is a bit of a naive dim bulb who thinks scientifically inclined thoughts such as this, when she first meets her new alien specimen:
Xerus stood in the center of the room and all Lana could think was what Jacob and Torrence had told her was true. He was evil-looking.
An astute observation honed by years of education and training it was not. Lana is a little short on astute observations, doesn’t question anything an 8-year-old child would have endless questions about, accepts as fact everything she is told, spends a lot of time distressed and crying even before the base station falls into hellish chaos, then walks into danger without weapons or a plan, requires constant rescuing, and only remains alive by sheer luck.
Once. Once she actually showed a modicum of courage and a spark of intelligence. I needed more.
I also needed better writing. This was comic book-level, and suffered from misused words (“weary” instead of “wary,” “passed” instead of “past”), poor grammar, poor phrasing, improper punctuation, and proofreading errors. As for the science fiction elements, they weren’t horrendously bad but Asimov and Bradbury can rest easy.
On the plus side—and heavily weighted my star rating—this book grabbed my attention and didn’t let go. This was an imaginative, engrossing story with action propelling it forward at all times. Sometimes the action skewed unbelievable (the big battle towards the end at the city level, for instance) but most of the time it was well-described, tense and gripping, and carried me along with it.
Also on the plus side: Xerus. He’s big, he’s red, he’s scaly, he’s horny—literally—and I want him to look exactly as pictured on the cover of this book. He’s also smart, intense, really hard to kill, resourceful, and heroically protective of Lana. He’s also delusional about her:
"A queen is chosen for her strength and bravery. For her cunning and ability to endure." Xerus stated.
Which, if a guy can be this blinded by love, I say thumbs up. He’s a keeper.
I really enjoyed this book in spite of the weak heroine and writing. It was the break I needed from same-old, same-old and I thank Izzah for the recommendation and both Lori and Izzah for the fun buddy read! Anytime you’ve got a big old lizard with a hard head and a soft heart, count me in!
December 29, 2020
This book annoyed me more than it should. And I fully admit to it mostly being a "me issue".
See, the story takes place at a lab/research facility. Our heroine is a very smart biologist and behaviourist (or some such). Honestly I don't quite remember her titles. She studies alien behaviour and helps transition them into human society.
A good chunk of this book is her studying Xerus and being around her colleagues. And holy shit, the bad depiction of science and research grated. Everytime she said "theory" about something that was clearly a hypothesis made me pull hairs out. Also her methods. So sloppy! I beg of you, stop the torture!
But it did get better when
I will also say that I thought Xerus and Lana had decent chemistry.
The writing wasn't good, but neither did my eyes bleed. Quite a few spelling errors, typos, and forgotton words but nothing too bad.
The incompetence and grossness of the military there also seemed... a tad overdone. You're telling me that And that's coming from me, I'm not even that big on military. This just seemed a little over the top.
Final rating
Yeah, this ain't getting more than 2,5 stars. I'm rounding down because how much the science stuff annoyed me. I might not be a researcher myself, but I do study medicine and even to my untrained brain it was bad.
See, the story takes place at a lab/research facility. Our heroine is a very smart biologist and behaviourist (or some such). Honestly I don't quite remember her titles. She studies alien behaviour and helps transition them into human society.
A good chunk of this book is her studying Xerus and being around her colleagues. And holy shit, the bad depiction of science and research grated. Everytime she said "theory" about something that was clearly a hypothesis made me pull hairs out. Also her methods. So sloppy! I beg of you, stop the torture!
But it did get better when
I will also say that I thought Xerus and Lana had decent chemistry.
The writing wasn't good, but neither did my eyes bleed. Quite a few spelling errors, typos, and forgotton words but nothing too bad.
The incompetence and grossness of the military there also seemed... a tad overdone. You're telling me that And that's coming from me, I'm not even that big on military. This just seemed a little over the top.
Final rating
Yeah, this ain't getting more than 2,5 stars. I'm rounding down because how much the science stuff annoyed me. I might not be a researcher myself, but I do study medicine and even to my untrained brain it was bad.
August 16, 2024
**5/5 stars**
First read: August 5th, 2021 (Kindle)
Second read: August 13th, 2024 (Audiobook)
(My first review will be in the comments, I really wanted to write a new one, more complete)
Heart's Prisoner is one of the first books that got me into alien/human romances, and also one of my favorites. And somehow I had forgotten about it after all this time. While looking through the series I had started, I noticed that this one, I hadn't continued but I think at the time, I had many other series I wanted to explore. But enough with background stuff, let's jump into the content of this book:
The story is set in a time where the human race has achieved space traveling and exploring. They have made contact with aliens, discovered many new species and specimens, studying them, communicating with sentient aliens, and creating facilities to eventually try to integrate/introduce alien species to humanity. Lana is one of those behaviorists who has been successful in making contact with the Gyda species, who seem to be able to interact with humans without any hostilities. Her work almost done with the Gyda, Lana is now being offered to work on Lazris, a bigger facility containing species that are essentially more aggressive and more of a mystery, harder to work with than the Gyda. And more particularly, she is requested to work with Asset X, an alien who looks like a demon, and who is undeniably scary and dangerous. Since the other behaviorists before her were unable to get anything from Asset X, Lana is probably their last chance. Seeing an opportunity for herself, she accepts the job and travels to Lazris. It doesn't take long for her to realize that something is wrong in the Lazris facility, but will she be able to stop it before it's too late?
The book is a third person perspective following Lana, a strong, empathetic and brave behaviorist who loves her job. I would normally be upset that the focus was only on Lana the whole time (because I much prefer dual POV), but I think in this case, it really added to the thrilling mystery going on. I really liked Lana's way of working. Her methods were interesting and it also helped her build a bond with Asset X, who before her, had refused any civil interaction with other behaviorists. Everything about her was genuine and I really liked her as a main character. I don't believe I was ever annoyed by her because all her reactions and actions made sense to me.
Lana's first introduction to Asset X, or Xerus was very well done. While I had read the book before and knew how the story went, their first meeting was still thrilling and a bit scary upon my reread. The author did very well building up the tension between them and reflecting Lana's emotions, before, during, and after her first meeting with Xerus. A lot of time is spent trying to learn about each other, while being separated by a thick glass wall. Their friendship grows over time and their feelings deepen without them truly understanding them. They are both a mystery for the other, and they are both curious to know more. But since it's from Lana's perspective, there is always this uncertainty when it comes to Xerus, which really elevates the thrilling aspect of the plot, and the mystery, is the strong point.
I'll be honest, the focus wasn't all that much on the romance at first, and it was definitely a slow burn. Their love slowly builds up and most of it lies in the subtleties. Some moments you might only notice on second read or understand the meaning later on. If you are looking for a steamy erotica, you might be disappointed, but the chemistry between Lana and Xerus is definitely worth the read, and the main intimate moment that we get is also perfectly done.
On my reread this time, I listened to the audiobook while I was at work and Maxine Mitchell did a fantastic narration. Each character had its own tone and intonations, Lana sounded compassionate and the accent she gave to Xerus when doing his voice was intriguing and unique. Perfect narration, highly recommend!
✔️HFN/HEA
✔️Standalone
✔️Dual POV
✔️Enemies to friends to lovers
✔️MC's age
✔️Dangerous/Mysterious/ Broody/ Protective H
✔️Brave/ Sweet/ Strong h
✔️No OW/OM
✔️No cheating
✔️Slow burn
🔥 Steam level: 1.5/5
⚡Content warning
⚡Trigger warning
If you are a fan of mystery and thrillers, with a hint of romance and slight spice, I think you would love this book. For me at least, it's one of my favorite books in the genre. If you are someone who is just beginning to read alien/human romance and eroticas, and have some reluctances, I think Heart's Prisoner is a great one to start with. It makes you not want to put the book down because you want to know more about Xerus, see Lana interact with him, try to decipher him, and gain his trust. But there is also the main plot, the mystery and the danger lurking in Lazris that tops it off, keeping you engaged.
I'm looking forward to the next books in this series (and I believe there is also another series called Vrisha Warriors that explores the same universe and species) Overall, I highly recommend this particular book. One of my favorites for sure, and re-read worthy many times.
First read: August 5th, 2021 (Kindle)
Second read: August 13th, 2024 (Audiobook)
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ
(My first review will be in the comments, I really wanted to write a new one, more complete)
Heart's Prisoner is one of the first books that got me into alien/human romances, and also one of my favorites. And somehow I had forgotten about it after all this time. While looking through the series I had started, I noticed that this one, I hadn't continued but I think at the time, I had many other series I wanted to explore. But enough with background stuff, let's jump into the content of this book:
The story is set in a time where the human race has achieved space traveling and exploring. They have made contact with aliens, discovered many new species and specimens, studying them, communicating with sentient aliens, and creating facilities to eventually try to integrate/introduce alien species to humanity. Lana is one of those behaviorists who has been successful in making contact with the Gyda species, who seem to be able to interact with humans without any hostilities. Her work almost done with the Gyda, Lana is now being offered to work on Lazris, a bigger facility containing species that are essentially more aggressive and more of a mystery, harder to work with than the Gyda. And more particularly, she is requested to work with Asset X, an alien who looks like a demon, and who is undeniably scary and dangerous. Since the other behaviorists before her were unable to get anything from Asset X, Lana is probably their last chance. Seeing an opportunity for herself, she accepts the job and travels to Lazris. It doesn't take long for her to realize that something is wrong in the Lazris facility, but will she be able to stop it before it's too late?
The book is a third person perspective following Lana, a strong, empathetic and brave behaviorist who loves her job. I would normally be upset that the focus was only on Lana the whole time (because I much prefer dual POV), but I think in this case, it really added to the thrilling mystery going on. I really liked Lana's way of working. Her methods were interesting and it also helped her build a bond with Asset X, who before her, had refused any civil interaction with other behaviorists. Everything about her was genuine and I really liked her as a main character. I don't believe I was ever annoyed by her because all her reactions and actions made sense to me.
Xerus' tail swished beside him. “Interesting theories. And what makes you think I don't use weapons?” This time it was Lana's turn to size him up. She looked him over and Xerus tilted his head at her as he watched her observing him. “You don't need weapons because you were built to be one yourself,” Lana said.
Lana's first introduction to Asset X, or Xerus was very well done. While I had read the book before and knew how the story went, their first meeting was still thrilling and a bit scary upon my reread. The author did very well building up the tension between them and reflecting Lana's emotions, before, during, and after her first meeting with Xerus. A lot of time is spent trying to learn about each other, while being separated by a thick glass wall. Their friendship grows over time and their feelings deepen without them truly understanding them. They are both a mystery for the other, and they are both curious to know more. But since it's from Lana's perspective, there is always this uncertainty when it comes to Xerus, which really elevates the thrilling aspect of the plot, and the mystery, is the strong point.
I'll be honest, the focus wasn't all that much on the romance at first, and it was definitely a slow burn. Their love slowly builds up and most of it lies in the subtleties. Some moments you might only notice on second read or understand the meaning later on. If you are looking for a steamy erotica, you might be disappointed, but the chemistry between Lana and Xerus is definitely worth the read, and the main intimate moment that we get is also perfectly done.
On my reread this time, I listened to the audiobook while I was at work and Maxine Mitchell did a fantastic narration. Each character had its own tone and intonations, Lana sounded compassionate and the accent she gave to Xerus when doing his voice was intriguing and unique. Perfect narration, highly recommend!
✔️HFN/HEA
✔️Standalone
✔️Dual POV
✔️Enemies to friends to lovers
✔️MC's age
✔️Dangerous/Mysterious/ Broody/ Protective H
✔️Brave/ Sweet/ Strong h
✔️No OW/OM
✔️No cheating
✔️Slow burn
🔥 Steam level: 1.5/5
⚡Content warning
⚡Trigger warning
If you are a fan of mystery and thrillers, with a hint of romance and slight spice, I think you would love this book. For me at least, it's one of my favorite books in the genre. If you are someone who is just beginning to read alien/human romance and eroticas, and have some reluctances, I think Heart's Prisoner is a great one to start with. It makes you not want to put the book down because you want to know more about Xerus, see Lana interact with him, try to decipher him, and gain his trust. But there is also the main plot, the mystery and the danger lurking in Lazris that tops it off, keeping you engaged.
I'm looking forward to the next books in this series (and I believe there is also another series called Vrisha Warriors that explores the same universe and species) Overall, I highly recommend this particular book. One of my favorites for sure, and re-read worthy many times.
Dark World Mates Series
1. Heart's Prisoner*
2. Dark's Savior
3. Shadow's Chosen
4. Heart's Keeper
November 12, 2021
DNF at 28%. In the beginning I quite liked the book. It had its issues, but nothing that could be fixed with some good editing.
Then I encountered the factual errors. The description of how they make the translation software for Xerus hurt my soul. And no one actually does what they're supposed to do. Lana is an utterly inept behaviorist and should never have been allowed to graduate. The previous scientists working with Xerus were also utterly inept. And Nicole, being Lana's therapist, should absolutely not befriend her the way she does.
Then there was Lana's relationship with Xerus. She suffers from a case of Too Stupid To Live, the way she navigates this task. She is repeatedly told that Xerus is dangerous, Xerus repeatedly shows her that he is dangerous, and yet she simps for him like a helpless fangirl and insists that he isn't dangerous, even when the facts are thrown in her face. She says she's working on getting info from him, when in fact she strives really hard to lose any and all respect he might have for her. If he does feel anything for her, it never shows, and I usually like slow burn stories where the signs of affection are very discreet for the greater part of the book. There is absolutely nothing here, save a passing interest from him. All we see is him using her for his own benefits and she's all surprised Pikachu that he killed the Scibot with a pilfered piece of bone. Really? Literally everyone, including Xerus himself, has told her that he is dangerous.
There's also the writing style side of it. There are plenty of minor errors, and her internal dialogue is shown with single quotes. A good editor would have fixed this.
Another thing I didn't like is the expectation that all species will want to assimilate into the human culture. This is super colonialist and could be a great commentary on colonialism, racism and other -isms, but it's just presented as the normal that everyone works towards.
Then I encountered the factual errors. The description of how they make the translation software for Xerus hurt my soul. And no one actually does what they're supposed to do. Lana is an utterly inept behaviorist and should never have been allowed to graduate. The previous scientists working with Xerus were also utterly inept. And Nicole, being Lana's therapist, should absolutely not befriend her the way she does.
Then there was Lana's relationship with Xerus. She suffers from a case of Too Stupid To Live, the way she navigates this task. She is repeatedly told that Xerus is dangerous, Xerus repeatedly shows her that he is dangerous, and yet she simps for him like a helpless fangirl and insists that he isn't dangerous, even when the facts are thrown in her face. She says she's working on getting info from him, when in fact she strives really hard to lose any and all respect he might have for her. If he does feel anything for her, it never shows, and I usually like slow burn stories where the signs of affection are very discreet for the greater part of the book. There is absolutely nothing here, save a passing interest from him. All we see is him using her for his own benefits and she's all surprised Pikachu that he killed the Scibot with a pilfered piece of bone. Really? Literally everyone, including Xerus himself, has told her that he is dangerous.
There's also the writing style side of it. There are plenty of minor errors, and her internal dialogue is shown with single quotes. A good editor would have fixed this.
Another thing I didn't like is the expectation that all species will want to assimilate into the human culture. This is super colonialist and could be a great commentary on colonialism, racism and other -isms, but it's just presented as the normal that everyone works towards.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 20, 2021
Monster Love at it's Best!! 👏👏👏
This was so good. I was sucked in and couldn't stop reading until I finished. This is action packed, with a creepy twilight zone thriller-ish feel to it because as you're reading you know something weird is going on. Something other than what your main focus is on. There are twists and turns, and events you won't see coming. When all is revealed it rounds out the story so well allowing us to finally get to see Xerus and Lana in action together, without all the pesky eyes watching.
I loved this. I loved Lana and Xerus' interactions. How Xerus could see the beauty in Lana but more importantly how Lana could see the beauty and 'humanity' in Xerus. I loved how they built such trust for each other that they were able to work together to save the human race. Albeit unbeknownst to said human race, because it was the right and honorable thing.
My only gripe is I wanted to see them together on Tryth. I wanted much more...but I am excited to see book 4 is another story with Lana and Xerus!!
This was so good. I was sucked in and couldn't stop reading until I finished. This is action packed, with a creepy twilight zone thriller-ish feel to it because as you're reading you know something weird is going on. Something other than what your main focus is on. There are twists and turns, and events you won't see coming. When all is revealed it rounds out the story so well allowing us to finally get to see Xerus and Lana in action together, without all the pesky eyes watching.
I loved this. I loved Lana and Xerus' interactions. How Xerus could see the beauty in Lana but more importantly how Lana could see the beauty and 'humanity' in Xerus. I loved how they built such trust for each other that they were able to work together to save the human race. Albeit unbeknownst to said human race, because it was the right and honorable thing.
My only gripe is I wanted to see them together on Tryth. I wanted much more...but I am excited to see book 4 is another story with Lana and Xerus!!
October 7, 2024
This is one of those books I wish I could read again for the first time. Probably why I’ve read it sooooo many times. Xerus is such a little shit and I love him for it. He’s playful and arrogant with all his talking down to Lana and disdain for what he knows of humans so far. To be fair, if my first encounter went the ways his did, I’d feel the same. I know some people think that the love story is squished into the end of this book and inconsequential, but I will die on the hill that their love story is beautiful and unique and integral to the overarching plot. Lana and Xerus 4ever
Spice: 2/5
OG review:
This book had fantastic world building and a unique love story. I enjoyed the cultural differences, although I think the author could have spent more time allowing the leads to explore these differences beyond physical appearance and environment. Especially body language.
An area I really wish the author would have expounded on is consent in sex in Xerus’ culture. Clearly in one of their encounters, Xerus expresses confusion regarding Lana’s scent having traces of another male. It’s clear to readers that Lana is unhappy about the attentions of this other male and feels violated by his touch, but we never get to hear how Xerus feels about consent and what touch is acceptable to his people.
Over all it was very well done. One of the better alien romances where love is based on personality more than physical attraction.
MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS IN TRIGGER WARNINGS
Triggers: violence, animal attacks, gun violence, murder, mass murder, captivity, torture, epidemic, fire, burns, sexual harassment, threat of SA, involuntary kiss (not from MC), speciesism, sexism, nightmares, explosions, suicide
Spice: 2/5
OG review:
This book had fantastic world building and a unique love story. I enjoyed the cultural differences, although I think the author could have spent more time allowing the leads to explore these differences beyond physical appearance and environment. Especially body language.
An area I really wish the author would have expounded on is consent in sex in Xerus’ culture. Clearly in one of their encounters, Xerus expresses confusion regarding Lana’s scent having traces of another male. It’s clear to readers that Lana is unhappy about the attentions of this other male and feels violated by his touch, but we never get to hear how Xerus feels about consent and what touch is acceptable to his people.
Over all it was very well done. One of the better alien romances where love is based on personality more than physical attraction.
MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS IN TRIGGER WARNINGS
Triggers: violence, animal attacks, gun violence, murder, mass murder, captivity, torture, epidemic, fire, burns, sexual harassment, threat of SA, involuntary kiss (not from MC), speciesism, sexism, nightmares, explosions, suicide
July 16, 2025
»Is it only because you still fear me?«
»No.«
»Prove it then. Kiss me again.«
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
❥ 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝜗𝜚˚⋆
Loved her. She is very intelligent and caring but strong and smart mouthed too. I liked the fact she is no damsel in distress.
❥ 𝑿𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒔 ⋆✮
He is big, scary and strong - a born warrior. His looks are terrible (he is an alien that looks like an alien) and his moods are bad. Still I liked him because he opened up towards Lana and does everything to protect her.
✥ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌
Wow! This was amazing! It is one of these books you can’t put down. The pages just flew by and I was glued to my kindle all day. I expected a smutty alien romance but got so much more! The plot was fantastic and thrilling. There actually happens something and it‘s the perfect mixture of action, secrets and love story. The author has an incredible writing style and the world building is good. I could dive into the story without any problems and the science fiction part was strong.
Lana and Xeris are a great couple. Both are intelligent and fight for each other. She is a doctor (researching alien races) and he is a prisoner and it’s her job to figure him and his species out. Their dialogue was well done and the whole prison/military base setting was well build up.
It‘s a slow burn with a lot of plot twists and I‘m glad this book had an actual plot and not just smut. It was very well thought out and I had a good time with this book. I‘m so happy I picked this up.
All in all a must read alien romance!
𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤?
Yes! But don‘t expect a smutty book, this one is heavy on the plot side.
𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟓 ׂㅤ𐙚 ࣪ ⭒
plot: 5/5
spice: 1/5
humor: 4/5
couple/tension: 5/5
world building: 5/5
happy end?: yes
𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 ᡣ𐭩ྀི₊ ⊹
possessive and protective hero, alien romance, science fiction, doctor/researcher x captive alien, military base setting, slow burn, touch her and die, secrets and lies, she learns his language
𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬
#1 Heart‘s Prisoner ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
#2 Dark‘s Savior ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
»No.«
»Prove it then. Kiss me again.«
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
❥ 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝜗𝜚˚⋆
Loved her. She is very intelligent and caring but strong and smart mouthed too. I liked the fact she is no damsel in distress.
❥ 𝑿𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒔 ⋆✮
He is big, scary and strong - a born warrior. His looks are terrible (he is an alien that looks like an alien) and his moods are bad. Still I liked him because he opened up towards Lana and does everything to protect her.
✥ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌
Wow! This was amazing! It is one of these books you can’t put down. The pages just flew by and I was glued to my kindle all day. I expected a smutty alien romance but got so much more! The plot was fantastic and thrilling. There actually happens something and it‘s the perfect mixture of action, secrets and love story. The author has an incredible writing style and the world building is good. I could dive into the story without any problems and the science fiction part was strong.
Lana and Xeris are a great couple. Both are intelligent and fight for each other. She is a doctor (researching alien races) and he is a prisoner and it’s her job to figure him and his species out. Their dialogue was well done and the whole prison/military base setting was well build up.
It‘s a slow burn with a lot of plot twists and I‘m glad this book had an actual plot and not just smut. It was very well thought out and I had a good time with this book. I‘m so happy I picked this up.
All in all a must read alien romance!
𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤?
Yes! But don‘t expect a smutty book, this one is heavy on the plot side.
𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟓 ׂㅤ𐙚 ࣪ ⭒
plot: 5/5
spice: 1/5
humor: 4/5
couple/tension: 5/5
world building: 5/5
happy end?: yes
𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 ᡣ𐭩ྀི₊ ⊹
possessive and protective hero, alien romance, science fiction, doctor/researcher x captive alien, military base setting, slow burn, touch her and die, secrets and lies, she learns his language
𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬
#1 Heart‘s Prisoner ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
#2 Dark‘s Savior ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
April 30, 2021
Just finished it and I'm soooooo pissed.
Inhale....Exhale.... This review will be a little ranty and all over the place. Apologies in advance.
When you like a genre, you devour it. Good. Bad. Awesome. Mediocre. All of it. You also learn the tropes. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with tropes. I like tropes. They give us a sense of comfort. The problem arises when the tropes ARE the plot instead of IN the plot. If you're a fair-weather reader of the genre, the tropes probably won't bother you at all. If you're a fan, then you look askew and wait for the writer to make it work. When they do, you go, yeah, good one. When they don't, it sets your teeth on edge.
Dear authors of the alien romance genre, please, for the love of God! You DON'T
As you guessed, all of these things happen in this book and normally I'd write a scathing one-star review. BUT...there were some interesting points in this story. It was fresh enough to keep me interested. In fact, this was a fairly solid three-star book up to 40 or 50% despite some the issues presented above.
Then we have THE INCIDENT. So basically, this story is
THE INCIDENT was not a surprise. I'm sure 90% of the readers saw it coming a mile away. I was okay with that because the h/h interactions kept me interested. I was even letting the sexual harassment slide (wet noodle heroine) because I knew what was coming.
Then THE INCIDENT...apocalypse, fire raining from the skies, we're all going to die, cats and dogs living together-MASS HYSTERIA!!!
Hold that thought because the h/h need to play house and have sex. Multiple times. - I'll admit, I blinked. What the Actual Fuck! I can't be reading this right. I did, and I fucking lost it.
By then it's some 70-80% so I kept reading, but I was pretty numb to the whole story. When the evil, unprofessional, unscrupulous, psychotic SEAL team does its thing, I yawned. Of course, they did.
The sad part is this could've been a contender. It could've been a kick-ass horror story with romance. It had a solid foundation, but the walls were made of grass and the roof out of tissue paper.
Two-stars because I liked the idea and the beginning.
Inhale....Exhale.... This review will be a little ranty and all over the place. Apologies in advance.
When you like a genre, you devour it. Good. Bad. Awesome. Mediocre. All of it. You also learn the tropes. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with tropes. I like tropes. They give us a sense of comfort. The problem arises when the tropes ARE the plot instead of IN the plot. If you're a fair-weather reader of the genre, the tropes probably won't bother you at all. If you're a fan, then you look askew and wait for the writer to make it work. When they do, you go, yeah, good one. When they don't, it sets your teeth on edge.
Dear authors of the alien romance genre, please, for the love of God! You DON'T
- have to make EVERY human male evil - incompetent evil, greedy evil, thuggish evil, evil evil - to justify why the alien hero is a good romantic choice. Your writing should show - not tell - why the hero is in fact the hero.
-have to make the military, government, scientists all villains. Your story should still hold interest if everything is by the book and shit STILL hits the fan. Really, Murphy can and will take care of it.
-have to make your heroine a STUPID WET NOODLE because the plot needs her to be. Especially if you tell us how smart and capable they are. What's worse is when you go, now she's stupid to move the plot along, she's smart and gutsy , nope, back to stupid because plot....you get the picture.
- and now we pause the apocalypse because it IS a romance and you need to throw in some sexy times. The barbarians are at the gates, but we need them to play house and have sex and make the heroine a sexually sated wet noodle.
-have to make the story from one pov (the heroine's) to keep the suspense. In fact, if we had some of the hero's pov, you could almost justify some of the dumbassery of the heroine. Maybe.
-make the 'heroine' terrified of the hero for 70% of the book and then have her turnaround and realize she's actually IN LOVE with the hero because...well, they are about to play house and have sex so of course she loves him.
- ever use "...she thought" for internalized dialog. Use italics, that's the standard. Not, 'What are you doing', she thought. 'Blah blah blah', she thought. It's a personal pet peeve and made my eyes twitch every time I read it especially since most of those weren't even needed.
As you guessed, all of these things happen in this book and normally I'd write a scathing one-star review. BUT...there were some interesting points in this story. It was fresh enough to keep me interested. In fact, this was a fairly solid three-star book up to 40 or 50% despite some the issues presented above.
Then we have THE INCIDENT. So basically, this story is
THE INCIDENT was not a surprise. I'm sure 90% of the readers saw it coming a mile away. I was okay with that because the h/h interactions kept me interested. I was even letting the sexual harassment slide (wet noodle heroine) because I knew what was coming.
Then THE INCIDENT...apocalypse, fire raining from the skies, we're all going to die, cats and dogs living together-MASS HYSTERIA!!!
Hold that thought because the h/h need to play house and have sex. Multiple times. - I'll admit, I blinked. What the Actual Fuck! I can't be reading this right. I did, and I fucking lost it.
By then it's some 70-80% so I kept reading, but I was pretty numb to the whole story. When the evil, unprofessional, unscrupulous, psychotic SEAL team does its thing, I yawned. Of course, they did.
The sad part is this could've been a contender. It could've been a kick-ass horror story with romance. It had a solid foundation, but the walls were made of grass and the roof out of tissue paper.
Two-stars because I liked the idea and the beginning.
June 22, 2021
Ooooo this one was a surprise!
Months later, I'd totally forgotten what happened in here but I only had to read like the first page again for it to all come flooding back. I really enjoyed this, I thought it would be fluff but damn the plot y'all!
I liked both our MCs, I was gonna say characters but nope nuh-uhn! These characters were shit! And I don't mean that the author wrote bad just that these were the type of people that would make me trigger happy, granted that's not saying much seeing as I hang onto my temper by the skin of my teeth but yeah, they were scum! So it was definitely all the more awesome cause justice is served!
February 10, 2021
I first read a free sample, but then decided to purchase the book. This may not sound like much, but for me to actually purchase a book (I don't have Kindle Unlimited) by an unknown self-published author is a rarity.
The book ended with a firm C, and here's why. First, the premise. Not an original one, but it doesn't have to be. That's why we have tropes, and that's why they work (for the most part) - every author adds their own unique spin yet meets the reader's expectations. The alien in the book looks like an alien - check from me (and a warning for those who don't prefer them too much on the "alien" side). The relationship developed at a nice slow pace - also check. Missing from the story were insta-love and incessant sexual scenes - a huge check, actually. Those of us who aren't into the minutia of aliens' mating habits, destined mates trope, or hapless females abducted to make alien babies will appreciate Heart's Prisoner. The heroine is ordinary but not hapless, and her feelings for the hero grow over time. The hero has all the requisite traits of an alien hero: big, red, scaly, has teeth and isn't afraid to use them. He is obstinate and temperamental, and I still don't know what to make of his violent outbursts in his cell. The world-building is okay, done more like a backdrop, which was fine by me as I was there for romance, not sci-fi action.
The stars were deducted mainly for the two-dimensional secondary characters whose role wasn't always clear, rambling storyline that I skimmed over in a lot of places, and lack of editing. The narrative needs to be tightened, but overall, a decent offering.
The book ended with a firm C, and here's why. First, the premise. Not an original one, but it doesn't have to be. That's why we have tropes, and that's why they work (for the most part) - every author adds their own unique spin yet meets the reader's expectations. The alien in the book looks like an alien - check from me (and a warning for those who don't prefer them too much on the "alien" side). The relationship developed at a nice slow pace - also check. Missing from the story were insta-love and incessant sexual scenes - a huge check, actually. Those of us who aren't into the minutia of aliens' mating habits, destined mates trope, or hapless females abducted to make alien babies will appreciate Heart's Prisoner. The heroine is ordinary but not hapless, and her feelings for the hero grow over time. The hero has all the requisite traits of an alien hero: big, red, scaly, has teeth and isn't afraid to use them. He is obstinate and temperamental, and I still don't know what to make of his violent outbursts in his cell. The world-building is okay, done more like a backdrop, which was fine by me as I was there for romance, not sci-fi action.
The stars were deducted mainly for the two-dimensional secondary characters whose role wasn't always clear, rambling storyline that I skimmed over in a lot of places, and lack of editing. The narrative needs to be tightened, but overall, a decent offering.
December 2, 2025
Some level of nostalgia goggles was in place
This is a reread for me, but I first read it when it came out 5 years ago when it still had the other cover (this one is so much better~)
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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This is a reread for me, but I first read it when it came out 5 years ago when it still had the other cover (this one is so much better~)
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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![Profile Image for Elle ♡ [semi-hiatus].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1521418447i%2F78060090._UY200_CR25%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
February 24, 2021
I loved this book. I feel like it's rare for me to find an alien romance I truly love these days. I'm sure there are other alien books with the same premise, but I don't think I've ever read one where the human heroine (in this book, Lana) is a doctor studying the captive alien hero (in this book, Xerus) so the novelty was also fun for me. I also think the world building in this book was well done which is important to my enjoyment of any sci-fi, fantasy or pnr book.
I had heard this was a slow burn going in, but it seemed impossible for any sort of relationship to develop between Lana and Xerus given the circumstances under which they interact: 24/7 military style surveillance/recording of all their interactions which take place through glass with Xerus locked up in his cell. Most alien romances I read have the alien and human thrown together on a ship, on a strange planet, locked up together, etc. but there's usually forced proximity which is great for romance & smut obviously, but we got none of that here. Slowly, a quasi-friendship born of mutual respect and interest grows and this is definitely a slow burn. I honestly could've done with a bit more smut lol (there's only one detailed sex scene), but I still really liked it.
Another interesting thing about this book is that Xerus is not humanoid. He's described as a 'demon from hell' and it honestly fits lol: 7+ feet tall, red reptilian scales cover his body, he has a long poisonous barbed tail, spines protruding from his back, long horns described as similar to an African impala, sharp black teeth, red and black eyes, curved talons on his fingertips, slits for his nose...so even though normally I prefer the more humanoid aliens I was into it haha. Having a non-humanoid alien as the main lead felt more 'realistic' lol it feels silly talking about the realism of a sci-fi alien romance, but alas... I feel like if there are other 'intelligent' life forms out there the chances that their body plans are super similar to ours are not high so it was fun seeing this sweet little human fall in love with this scary looking lizard alien.
A few notes about what would've made this book even better for me:
-It didn't happen a lot, but there were typos, grammar and syntax issues.
-The plot had a lot going on so while it was still a romance the slow burn aspect of that combined with Lana and Xerus being kept physically seperate for the majority of the book made me wish there was a lot more of them together.
-I would've loved to have seen more outside of the Lazris facility and that planet:
*slight spoilers*
The entire book takes place at this facility which really didn't allow for us to fully get to know Xerus and flesh out his character. Only in the epilogue do we leave the facility and we're just in a ship approaching Xerus' home planet, but we never get there on page. I think if even one third or one fourth of this book had taken place on Xerus' home planet this would've been a 5-star top read for me. Xerus' people and customs seem really interesting, but we don't get to explore that or see who Xerus really is as he fits into his society and that would've been *chefs kiss* amazing. I think the plot definitely could've carried to make the home planet feel not like an epilogue, but like an essential part of Lana and Xerus' story. UGH. I need it! haha. If the author ever writes more about them I'll be all over it. (Please write more about them!!)
Overall, I feel like this book was amazing, but that we were just getting started when it ended. I wanted more, more, more and that's honestly my biggest complaint haha. The second book in the series is about different characters😭with a completely different alien species and I've heard it's not as good, but maybe I'll check it out in the future.
I had heard this was a slow burn going in, but it seemed impossible for any sort of relationship to develop between Lana and Xerus given the circumstances under which they interact: 24/7 military style surveillance/recording of all their interactions which take place through glass with Xerus locked up in his cell. Most alien romances I read have the alien and human thrown together on a ship, on a strange planet, locked up together, etc. but there's usually forced proximity which is great for romance & smut obviously, but we got none of that here. Slowly, a quasi-friendship born of mutual respect and interest grows and this is definitely a slow burn. I honestly could've done with a bit more smut lol (there's only one detailed sex scene), but I still really liked it.
Another interesting thing about this book is that Xerus is not humanoid. He's described as a 'demon from hell' and it honestly fits lol: 7+ feet tall, red reptilian scales cover his body, he has a long poisonous barbed tail, spines protruding from his back, long horns described as similar to an African impala, sharp black teeth, red and black eyes, curved talons on his fingertips, slits for his nose...so even though normally I prefer the more humanoid aliens I was into it haha. Having a non-humanoid alien as the main lead felt more 'realistic' lol it feels silly talking about the realism of a sci-fi alien romance, but alas... I feel like if there are other 'intelligent' life forms out there the chances that their body plans are super similar to ours are not high so it was fun seeing this sweet little human fall in love with this scary looking lizard alien.
A few notes about what would've made this book even better for me:
-It didn't happen a lot, but there were typos, grammar and syntax issues.
-The plot had a lot going on so while it was still a romance the slow burn aspect of that combined with Lana and Xerus being kept physically seperate for the majority of the book made me wish there was a lot more of them together.
-I would've loved to have seen more outside of the Lazris facility and that planet:
*slight spoilers*
The entire book takes place at this facility which really didn't allow for us to fully get to know Xerus and flesh out his character. Only in the epilogue do we leave the facility and we're just in a ship approaching Xerus' home planet, but we never get there on page. I think if even one third or one fourth of this book had taken place on Xerus' home planet this would've been a 5-star top read for me. Xerus' people and customs seem really interesting, but we don't get to explore that or see who Xerus really is as he fits into his society and that would've been *chefs kiss* amazing. I think the plot definitely could've carried to make the home planet feel not like an epilogue, but like an essential part of Lana and Xerus' story. UGH. I need it! haha. If the author ever writes more about them I'll be all over it. (Please write more about them!!)
Overall, I feel like this book was amazing, but that we were just getting started when it ended. I wanted more, more, more and that's honestly my biggest complaint haha. The second book in the series is about different characters😭with a completely different alien species and I've heard it's not as good, but maybe I'll check it out in the future.
June 29, 2021
That was awesome! On second read, yes, there are some minor plot holes... well, maybe not "plot holes" but things I wished the heroine would have questioned or asked about, but these were easy for me to overlook. The book kept me absolutely riveted. The author painted the scenes wonderfully too, making it very easy for me to picture the people and events in my head.
The first half of the book is a bit like others I’ve read where an alien is captured and some female scientist is assigned to study him. But the second half of the book totally flipped the script and things escalated in leaps and bounds.
Some reviews called this book "dark" or even "horror", but I wouldn’t go that far. It certainly wasn’t the lighter fair that most alien romances are, but I’ve read much darker and scarier stuff. Everything starts out very civilized but ends in a bit of a war zone. I enjoyed both sides of the book. It was neat exploring how the doctor tried to communicate with the alien and get him to tell her about his people, and it was also an action packed adventure once everything went to hell. There is a lot of violence and our two heroes, both H and h, get pretty roughed up. So you gotta like a degree of violence to enjoy this book, which I totally do! (Yeah I know, there's something not right with me. LOL)
The romance was a slow burn. The alien was genuinely scary for a while, then intriguing, then a bit alluring, then right back to being downright terrifying. Then, finally, all of the secrets were revealed, the ice broken and barriers dropped, and our two lovers were able to come together. This is not a sex heavy romance novel like many others are. We do get some very rewarding sexcapades, but not much. Read this for the story and the adventure and the romance, not for the sex. What sex there is, is just a bonus on top of all the other stuff.
I really hope this author writes more!! (Edit: She has! The four book series is now complete. Books 2 and 3 take place on other worlds with other people, and then book 4 circles back to our first couple a few years later and brings everything to a close.)
The first half of the book is a bit like others I’ve read where an alien is captured and some female scientist is assigned to study him. But the second half of the book totally flipped the script and things escalated in leaps and bounds.
Some reviews called this book "dark" or even "horror", but I wouldn’t go that far. It certainly wasn’t the lighter fair that most alien romances are, but I’ve read much darker and scarier stuff. Everything starts out very civilized but ends in a bit of a war zone. I enjoyed both sides of the book. It was neat exploring how the doctor tried to communicate with the alien and get him to tell her about his people, and it was also an action packed adventure once everything went to hell. There is a lot of violence and our two heroes, both H and h, get pretty roughed up. So you gotta like a degree of violence to enjoy this book, which I totally do! (Yeah I know, there's something not right with me. LOL)
The romance was a slow burn. The alien was genuinely scary for a while, then intriguing, then a bit alluring, then right back to being downright terrifying. Then, finally, all of the secrets were revealed, the ice broken and barriers dropped, and our two lovers were able to come together. This is not a sex heavy romance novel like many others are. We do get some very rewarding sexcapades, but not much. Read this for the story and the adventure and the romance, not for the sex. What sex there is, is just a bonus on top of all the other stuff.
I really hope this author writes more!! (Edit: She has! The four book series is now complete. Books 2 and 3 take place on other worlds with other people, and then book 4 circles back to our first couple a few years later and brings everything to a close.)
November 6, 2020
This book was a slloooooooowww burn. It really was more of a science fiction story with some romance added in than a romance, in my opinion. There wasn’t more than a hint of flirtation in there until like 80% of the way through.
Still, it was an interesting story, and I appreciated the non-humanoid alien, though I personally would have enjoyed the book more if some of the action and non-essential scenes had been cut down in favor of developing the romantic relationship between the hero and heroine.
It also could have used some editing. I saw numerous instances of passed instead of past, your instead of you’re, and things like phased instead of fazed sprinkled in with typos and other small errors. All in all, a good book, but it wasn’t quite what I was looking for.
Still, it was an interesting story, and I appreciated the non-humanoid alien, though I personally would have enjoyed the book more if some of the action and non-essential scenes had been cut down in favor of developing the romantic relationship between the hero and heroine.
It also could have used some editing. I saw numerous instances of passed instead of past, your instead of you’re, and things like phased instead of fazed sprinkled in with typos and other small errors. All in all, a good book, but it wasn’t quite what I was looking for.
June 23, 2021
This was surprisingly amazing! And hella suspenseful, oh my god. It was almost a thriller more than a romance! Every time I thought I knew where the plot was going, it back-flipped and did something completely unexpected. A lot of sci-fi romance is really predictable and I really loved the uniqueness of this book.
My star taking away is for the extreme slow-burn of this book, to the point where it was almossssst not a romance. Don't get me wrong, I loved what happened with the plot, but I really had to wait a long time for my romance and I was left feeling a little dissatisfied in that department.
BUT the plot is so exciting and the tension so suspenseful and thrilling, it's really worth reading for that alone. For a while ride, I highly recommend!
My star taking away is for the extreme slow-burn of this book, to the point where it was almossssst not a romance. Don't get me wrong, I loved what happened with the plot, but I really had to wait a long time for my romance and I was left feeling a little dissatisfied in that department.
BUT the plot is so exciting and the tension so suspenseful and thrilling, it's really worth reading for that alone. For a while ride, I highly recommend!
August 5, 2020
I’m mad the author only has one book! Why???? 😩 Loved this story, and am happy to add another author to my favorites!
January 11, 2022
I've never in my life bothered to write a review on a book, not even the ones I love. Art is subjective and I would never want to discourage an author from trying. But this... this one cannot stand.
I found The Last Hour of Gann by accident and fell in love with SciFi romance so hard I've been devouring books in this genre since, trying to find its equal. Sadly, this isn't it. Though I would not be surprised to find that Ms. Riley has read TLHoG because there were some elements I noticed immediately that seemed at least inspired by, if not direct rip-offs of, some elements of TLHoG.
As this book began, I ignored the obvious typos, misspellings, and awkward dialogue because, despite me being wary of the recently overused trope of alien in captivity studied by female scientist, this book did seem to show some promise. I was hooked by the interactions between the two main characters just enough to overlook some weird and stilted momentum that seemed to jerk forward and stop harder than my grandmother on the freeway (sorry grams).
But the moment the setting went from alien in captivity to shit totally fell apart. It's like the author just gave up on this book and wanted it finished. I thought the whole concept of the was done alright enough but this is absolutely where my praise for this book ends.
Lana goes from level-headed behavioral specialist to absolute fucking idiot before you can say "never publish a book without a proofreader." Xerus attempts to and she falls for it with a dramatic flare that made me roll my eyes. In fact, every reaction Lana has from here on out is just ridiculous.
The scene where Nicole and Lana
But don't worry, Lana makes up for Nicole's lack of logical reaction
This complete and total ignorance of human anatomy doesn't get worse than later in the book It's a Christmas miracle.
But let's go back a bit to the fact that the entire base is I genuinely laughed at this ridiculousness. Either this protagonist is helpless or she's not, please pick a direction.
Riley attempts to create some suspense on the first level when Galger's team
But let's put the icing on this shit cake, shall we? Xerus is supposed to return to his people a victor and his reward This was a grossly inadequate attempt at wrapping up a story that leaves you feeling like the author just could not be bothered to care about this book anymore.
I wanted to put this book down so many times but I kept hoping the author would find a way to redeem herself. And when it was obvious that wasn't going to happen, I kept reading just to compile a list of crimes against her. This was bad. This was worse because it gave me hope in the beginning and then let me down so hard. This sounded like it was written by an angsty teenager with very little concept of how the world really works. I would say the time it took me to read this book were wasted moments of my life but they weren't entirely. We have to see how badly someone can do something to not only appreciate the talent that goes into the good works but to realize this publishing business isn't so hard after all. Not when people like Olivia Riley and E.L. James manage to do it.
I found The Last Hour of Gann by accident and fell in love with SciFi romance so hard I've been devouring books in this genre since, trying to find its equal. Sadly, this isn't it. Though I would not be surprised to find that Ms. Riley has read TLHoG because there were some elements I noticed immediately that seemed at least inspired by, if not direct rip-offs of, some elements of TLHoG.
As this book began, I ignored the obvious typos, misspellings, and awkward dialogue because, despite me being wary of the recently overused trope of alien in captivity studied by female scientist, this book did seem to show some promise. I was hooked by the interactions between the two main characters just enough to overlook some weird and stilted momentum that seemed to jerk forward and stop harder than my grandmother on the freeway (sorry grams).
But the moment the setting went from alien in captivity to shit totally fell apart. It's like the author just gave up on this book and wanted it finished. I thought the whole concept of the was done alright enough but this is absolutely where my praise for this book ends.
Lana goes from level-headed behavioral specialist to absolute fucking idiot before you can say "never publish a book without a proofreader." Xerus attempts to and she falls for it with a dramatic flare that made me roll my eyes. In fact, every reaction Lana has from here on out is just ridiculous.
The scene where Nicole and Lana
But don't worry, Lana makes up for Nicole's lack of logical reaction
This complete and total ignorance of human anatomy doesn't get worse than later in the book It's a Christmas miracle.
But let's go back a bit to the fact that the entire base is I genuinely laughed at this ridiculousness. Either this protagonist is helpless or she's not, please pick a direction.
Riley attempts to create some suspense on the first level when Galger's team
But let's put the icing on this shit cake, shall we? Xerus is supposed to return to his people a victor and his reward This was a grossly inadequate attempt at wrapping up a story that leaves you feeling like the author just could not be bothered to care about this book anymore.
I wanted to put this book down so many times but I kept hoping the author would find a way to redeem herself. And when it was obvious that wasn't going to happen, I kept reading just to compile a list of crimes against her. This was bad. This was worse because it gave me hope in the beginning and then let me down so hard. This sounded like it was written by an angsty teenager with very little concept of how the world really works. I would say the time it took me to read this book were wasted moments of my life but they weren't entirely. We have to see how badly someone can do something to not only appreciate the talent that goes into the good works but to realize this publishing business isn't so hard after all. Not when people like Olivia Riley and E.L. James manage to do it.
February 26, 2023
4 stars
This sci-fi romance is heavy on sci-fi plot and medium/low on romance. It does a good job at world building and the storyline kept me guessing (although full disclosure: I don’t read a lot of sci fi). I do wish the baddies were a bit more nuanced though, they felt a bit one-note.
Despite being low on steam (it probably would have worked just as well without the sex scene), the relationship between Lana and Xerus was quite moving. I enjoyed their culture exchange - she teaches him chess, he teaches her his language.
Overall, I found this to be a really engaging read, even if there wasn't as much romance as I normally like.
This sci-fi romance is heavy on sci-fi plot and medium/low on romance. It does a good job at world building and the storyline kept me guessing (although full disclosure: I don’t read a lot of sci fi). I do wish the baddies were a bit more nuanced though, they felt a bit one-note.
Despite being low on steam (it probably would have worked just as well without the sex scene), the relationship between Lana and Xerus was quite moving. I enjoyed their culture exchange - she teaches him chess, he teaches her his language.
Overall, I found this to be a really engaging read, even if there wasn't as much romance as I normally like.
June 3, 2024
3.5✨, 1.75🌶️
I was on the hunt for a sci-fi/alien romance between a human and an alien that felt alien, and for the most part Heart's Prisoner, Book 1 in the Dark World Mates series, delivered. in theory.
Our human FMC, Lana, a behavioral scientist with prior experience interacting and working with a newly-contacted alien species, has been contacted for a super secret mission on an even more super secret top military base, Lazris.
Lana's work with the previous alien species has made her a prime candidate to help with getting a newly found species to talk, Asset X, or Xerus. The male alien refuses to give up any of his secrets, and has scared away all prior scientists trying to ease them out of him. The military officials think that maybe changing tactics and sending in a FEMALE scientist may prompt a change, and on that front, they happen to be correct, which spurs into motion a series of events where true motives and loyalties will eventually be revealed.
While humanoid in some aspects, like being bi-pedal, I also appreciated how alien Xerus felt, and at times how very alien he acted. I also did like the FMC. I think the set-up here makes for a classically great alien romance; a captive alien and the human scientist that is assigned to work with him, realizes the nature of his captivity, falls in love with him, and frees him. Very ala The Shape of Water. So anyone looking for a quick alien romance like that, this will be right up your alley.
While there were nice parts of the romance, mostly towards the beginning and end, during the middle of the book I wasn't entirely convinced about their romance, or their feelings for each other, lust or love. It didn't seem like any development was happening that was showing me how these two completely different beings, an alien male and a human woman, were falling in love. It just seemed like we skipped to the necessary emotions relevant to the plot, jumping over the actual development. I'm not sure what could have helped here; some additional pages? Re-organizing some of the plot so more time is focused on the Xerus/Lana interactions? Not sure. But for what it is and for what I was looking for, I enjoyed it well enough.
I was on the hunt for a sci-fi/alien romance between a human and an alien that felt alien, and for the most part Heart's Prisoner, Book 1 in the Dark World Mates series, delivered. in theory.
Our human FMC, Lana, a behavioral scientist with prior experience interacting and working with a newly-contacted alien species, has been contacted for a super secret mission on an even more super secret top military base, Lazris.
Lana's work with the previous alien species has made her a prime candidate to help with getting a newly found species to talk, Asset X, or Xerus. The male alien refuses to give up any of his secrets, and has scared away all prior scientists trying to ease them out of him. The military officials think that maybe changing tactics and sending in a FEMALE scientist may prompt a change, and on that front, they happen to be correct, which spurs into motion a series of events where true motives and loyalties will eventually be revealed.
While humanoid in some aspects, like being bi-pedal, I also appreciated how alien Xerus felt, and at times how very alien he acted. I also did like the FMC. I think the set-up here makes for a classically great alien romance; a captive alien and the human scientist that is assigned to work with him, realizes the nature of his captivity, falls in love with him, and frees him. Very ala The Shape of Water. So anyone looking for a quick alien romance like that, this will be right up your alley.
While there were nice parts of the romance, mostly towards the beginning and end, during the middle of the book I wasn't entirely convinced about their romance, or their feelings for each other, lust or love. It didn't seem like any development was happening that was showing me how these two completely different beings, an alien male and a human woman, were falling in love. It just seemed like we skipped to the necessary emotions relevant to the plot, jumping over the actual development. I'm not sure what could have helped here; some additional pages? Re-organizing some of the plot so more time is focused on the Xerus/Lana interactions? Not sure. But for what it is and for what I was looking for, I enjoyed it well enough.
April 7, 2023
Rating: 3.3 / 5
So...here's the thing...
I read through this remarkably quickly, but it's the kind of "reading quickly" that happens because I keep searching for what I'm expecting to read about to finally happen...
...but then it just continuously DOESN'T, and so I keep reading further in the hopes that it just...will.
Except that the whole "romance' part of this, which is what I was expecting, only happens in the second half of the book after a lot of Clarice Starling / Hannibal Lector buildup, a ton of worldbuilding and scenes with characters that I didn't care about (and that I honestly just skimmed through).
But, unfortunately, it was a quick and rather out of nowhere romance DESPITE all that buildup...
...and just one lovemaking scene that left a LOT to be desired.
So...yeah, still a solid 3 stars for all the great stuff that I DIDN'T care about, and all that buildup...
...but definitely no more, because this is definitely NOT a re-read.
So...here's the thing...
I read through this remarkably quickly, but it's the kind of "reading quickly" that happens because I keep searching for what I'm expecting to read about to finally happen...
...but then it just continuously DOESN'T, and so I keep reading further in the hopes that it just...will.
Except that the whole "romance' part of this, which is what I was expecting, only happens in the second half of the book after a lot of Clarice Starling / Hannibal Lector buildup, a ton of worldbuilding and scenes with characters that I didn't care about (and that I honestly just skimmed through).
But, unfortunately, it was a quick and rather out of nowhere romance DESPITE all that buildup...
...and just one lovemaking scene that left a LOT to be desired.
So...yeah, still a solid 3 stars for all the great stuff that I DIDN'T care about, and all that buildup...
...but definitely no more, because this is definitely NOT a re-read.
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