Deceived

Aliens of Malum #1

by Sophie Stern

One alien princess + one Malum warrior = an unforgettable alien romance.

I never should have flown this close to Malum.

If I had stayed away, maybe it wouldn’t have come to this. Maybe I wouldn’t have crashed into the planet’s ocean and maybe I wouldn’t have climbed right into the cliff-side home of a creature so big, so wild, and so terrifying that I’m both horrified and aroused at our close proximity.

Now that I’m deep in the heart of Malum, a planet both forbidden and feared by the people of mine, but something is wrong.

Malum is nothing like I was promised. It’s not the horror-filled wasteland I was told that it was. In fact, it’s not nearly as scary as it should be, and the realization that my father lied to me is horrifying.

There’s a big problem on Malum.

It’s bigger than the ship I crashed.

It’s bigger than the dreams I threw away.

It’s bigger than the hopelessly handsome alien who is trying to guide me home.

And I’m the only one who might be able to save everything.

Genres: Romance, Science Fiction, Aliens, Science Fiction Romance, Amazon

159 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 30, 2021

About the author

Sophie Stern writes contemporary and paranormal romance <3 Visit her on Facebook for frequent updates!

http://facebook.com/sexysophiestern

Reviews

[Patricia Hoffstaetter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This well-written, interesting Sci-Fi romance introduces the reader to a new series that promises to be quite intriguing & I am looking forward to rest of this series with great anticipation. I found the plot quite intriguing with all the unexpected events & situations. I particularly liked how the main characters emotionally developed throughout the storyline to become a well-adjusted loving couple,
It is about: after a verbal disagreement with her future brother-in-law (Jax), a young princess (Paige) takes off but certainly did not expect to crash on a apparently dangerous planet (Malum) & to come into contact with a man (Ryssi) living in a cave.
There is adventure, action, drama, intrigue, suspense, deceit, betrayal, family issues, assassins, vulnerability, fear, danger, threats, violence, conflict, strange attractions, emotional turmoil, apprehension, confrontations, explanations, vengeful feelings, retaliation, some steam& a well-deserved, satisfying conclusion for this couple with an interesting epilogue.

[Angie]

DNF about a third of the way through. The heroine is beyond TSTL.

[V.P. Nightshade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute

I liked this book. Both of the main characters were very simple and not complex. Paige was so naive for an adult and Ryssi was sort of a cream puff. It was an easy and fairly quick read very little angst with a simple plot which is what I was looking for just to relax. There is room for improvement here. Both in the level of steam, plot, and writing, this is the main reason why I couldn't give it 5 stars. But the concept was good and it started off really well, it just felt flat at the end. Still it is a recommended read.

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

Probably one of the worst books I’ve ever attempted to read. Could not get past the first 1/4, the writing was beyond awful

[Angie Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sophie Stern has written a 5-star book. This is the story of Paige and Ryssi. Paige and Piper are the daughters of the King and Queen of Gideon and things are not as they seem. Paige has had an argument with Jax, Piper's fiance. He wants her to trade places with Piper so that he and Piper can rule. Paige refuses and sneaks out and takes a flight in her ship. She crashes in the water off of Malum. She somehow makes it to a cave up in the cliffs. The cliff she went into was not empty. As she is looking around and thinking about how she is going to get back home, and spinning around. "Where am I?" "That is what I would like to know, said a voice behind her. She spins around and reached for her knife. Before she can get to it, the man has her pinned un against the wall of the cave with her hands above her head. At first, things don't go well for Paige. The man asks her "Who are you?" "What do you want?" Paige tells him that she crashed her ship and she just wanted to sleep. She tells him her name is Paige and he said he was Ryssi. Ryssi can tell that she is scared and he takes her further into his cave and gives her something to eat. Unknown to her, there is something in the drink that he gives her that knocked her out. She remembers that she has a beacon on her and she turns it on hoping someone will come and get her. The next morning, he tells her that he will take her to find another ship so that she can go back home. The more she tells him, the more he thinks that someone tampered with her ship that caused her to crash. When they leave his cave, they get to the woods and they hear a ship coming. It flys over Ryssi's home a few times and then open fires and destroys his home. This makes Paige believe that Ryssi is right in someone wants her dead. Ryssi talks her to the underground transportation depot and that is when they see Jax. Her sister's fiance, the one she knows now wants her dead. Ryssi takes her to another port and gets them a boat. They talk the whole time they are on the boat. He learns more about her and finds out that she is the daughter of the king and queen of Gideon. Things between their two planets are not good. Her father has done bad things to Ryssi's people and Ryssi's people have done bad things to Paige's people. Now they can't trust what the other said. Ryssi is taking Paige to see the king, his brother but he doesn't tell her that he is a prince. When they finally get to the Castle and are about to go in a back way, they run into Jax. He tells Ryssi that he doesn't want him just Paige. She asks him "What do you want?" Jax tells her that he wants her dead so that he and Piper can rule. Things are about to turn bad but the king steps in to help. Andy, the king, shoots Jax and saves Paige. Ryssi and Paige both look at Andy and he said “Imagine my surprise,” he told me, “when a cabbie posted a video clip of my little brother riding in his cab with his fiancé.” Paige and I looked at my brother. The two of us were similar in height with the same matching purple-hued skin. His eyes were brighter than mine, though, and his hair was longer. Shaggier. “Imagine my even greater surprise when I sent out guards to locate you on foot only to spot you myself as you headed for your favorite private entrance to the castle,” Andryssi smiled, jerking his head toward the giant boulder I was planning to slip behind in order to enter the castle.Paige and Ryssi both thank Andy for what he has done. Andy asks "Shall we go inside?" When they get to where they can talk, Andy asks "So, what brings you to Tria?" Paige jumps in and said "it's my fault. "Excuse me?" Paige could tell that Andy probably wasn’t used to being interrupted. Then again, what kind of person in their right mind would interrupt a crowned king? She could apparently. She tells him how she crashed landed outside his cave the other day. “She’s the princess of Gideon,” Ryssi said. “What?” “And I’m going to marry her.” “Again, what?” She could feel the tension radiating off of Ryssi and his brother, and I hated that I was the cause of it. I suddenly felt the urge to help them calm down, to relax them. “Please,” I said, standing. “Please, don’t blame Ryssi.” That seemed to surprise Andy. He raised an eyebrow, looking at me. “Blame Ryssi?” “Yes,” I nodded. “Anything that may be bothering you about him, please don’t blame him for.” “Oh? And why not?” Andy seemed almost amused at this turn of events and at my boldness. Ryssi just seemed surprised. “Because anything Ryssi may have done was to help me.She tells Andy everything that had happened between the time she left her home and how Ryssi had helped her. After she tells Andy everything, he looks at both of them and said “My brother hasn’t stopped looking at you since you sat down,” he said. “What?” “I think you’re both insane for choosing to marry, uniting our two planets, but I support the decision. My only request is that I am the one to perform the ceremony.” The only reason Ryssi was marrying Paige was to keep her safe when she went back home. She doesn't want to believe that her sister is the one who betrayed her and wanted her dead. She also hoped that when she got home she didn't find her father dead and Piper as queen.“Really,” Andy said. “There’s no need to wait. Unless that is, you’re having second thoughts?” “Let’s do it now,” Ryssi said, standing. He held out his hand to me, and I took it. The ceremony was short, sweet, and succinct. Andy sent us off to our room – which he called the honeymoon suite – for the night. He promised to get us a ship first thing in the morning, and he explained that he would help us get back to Gideon without issue. When Paige and Ryssi get back to Gideon, she takes him to her secret passage to get into the castle. At first, he tells her he won't fit in the tunnel. She tells him he has to crawl. They stop and listen when they hear two women talking. They say something about her and Jax being and Piper going off to be by herself. They continue and come out in the same place Paige has her argument with Jax. As they are talking, Piper comes in and she goes after Piage. They fight for a few minutes until Ryssi stops Piper. Piper said that their mother was going to take care of their father at that time. Paige takes off to try and save her father but Piper tells her that she won't make it. When she gets to her parent's quarters, her father has her mother on her knees with a knife to her throat. She asks him about the things she learned about Malum. He tells her everything was true.Paige tells her father that she was now married.Piper was brought into the room by Ryssi and she hears that Paige and Ryssi are married. She yells and starts to throw a fit. Her mother had a glass of wine that had poison in it and after telling her about what he did, he took the wine and drank all of it. He then kissed his wife. Her parents both die from the posion.
Will Ryssi stay and help Paige rule or will he go back home?
This was a wonderful book and I would recommend it to anyone.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (2/3/2022)! 🎁

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paige is a resident of the planet Gideon. She is also the oldest twin and heir to the throne. She is destined to be queen. Unfortunately, she has family members her who continuously tell her she would made a horrible queen and should not hold accept the position. After an argument with her brother in law, Paige takes her space ship to go for a ride and calm down. But then something goes wrong and she finds herself crashing into a large body of water. Paige is able to exit her ship and swim to a cliffside. Once she is able to scale the side of the cliff, she ends up in a cave. She believes she will rest here and regain her strength while contemplating her next move. But this cave is not a normal cave and it is definitely not unoccupied! In fact there is a large alien male, who is not happy about the unexpected visitor. Paige quickly realizes she is on Mallum, a rival planet to Gideon and she remembers the horrifying stories her father told her over the years. But something doesn't feel right. There are things that do not match her father's stories. What is going on? Her father wouldn't lie would he? He was so adamant about how terrible they were. But even this huge alien (Rhys) has not been volatile in any way. Even with her accidentally intruding on his solitude, he has not treated her cruelly. Besides, he's not bad to look at. In fact he's really hot. So, what the hell is happening? Plus where and how is Paige going to find the answers? This is an excellent and exciting start to a new series. I highly recommend this book and I am eagerly awaiting the next installment.

[Debbie Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. There is lots of court intrigue in this story. Paige fights with her future brother-in-law Jax and takes a trip to cool off. Unfortunately she crashes on Malum and while climbing to get to a safe place, she meets Ryssi. It is good that Ryssi is a seasoned warrior and suspects the danger she's in. Ryssi and Paige get out just before Ryssi's home is destroyed. Someone is trying to kill her. With Ryssi and his brother's, the King of Malum, help the assassin is killed. During the journey to palace, Paige learns the truth about the relations between Gideon and Malum. Ryssi and Paige are married by King Andy before they go to Gideon to find out the truth. Paige's father confesses to his crimes before committing suicide and taking his queen with him. Piper is imprisoned for her plotting. Paige and Ryssi become the new rulers of Gideon. Paige is working to right all the wrongs done to Malum.

[sherri jones-teachout · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this story. Betrayal by those who were supposed to love her.
Paige is princess of Gideon and is human. She crash lands on a planet called Malum that she has been told all her life to avoid as it is dangerous. But when she seeks shelter in a cave, the man living there shelters her and feeds her. When he tells her that she has obviously been targeted by someone on her own planet she doesn’t believe him. Until a ship from Gideon appears and shoots the cave to pieces, just after she and Ryssi escaped. Now she knows her future brother-in-law is trying to kill and her and possibly her twin sister is helping him. Will Ryssi and the people of Malum help her when they hate the people of Gideon for kidnapping women and slaughtering others? I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC from the author thru Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving my review. Paige is a princess that crashes onto a forbidden planet. She is in more danger than she realizes. She comes across Ryssi at the cliffs and they feel a strong attraction to each other. They learn quickly how imminent the danger is. Paige also finds out that she had been lied to about Malum. There is deception, betrayal and mystery coming from what her own family has done. Paige and Ryssi grow closer and are married by the king, his brother. They return to expose things on Gideon and create a better life. I enjoyed this book and thought the characters were great. The storyline will draw you in and will make it hard to put down.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF - quit at 18%
This was a really hard story to get into. There's a lot happening right away, with no clear idea of what's going on or who the FMC is to understand anything of why she's flying solo and even crashing on a forbidden planet. Then add in the crash, the swim, the cave, the huge purple alien (why are the alien guys always 7-8 foot tall?), getting drugged, and her starting to think of things & labeling herself a princess from the enemy planet she crashed on... It was just too confusing to make enough sense of to want to continue reading. Add in a lot of repetitiveness, and it was just "stick a fork" in done.

At my age (approaching 60), life is way too short & my time is too important to force myself to read a book I'm not enjoying, especially when there are so many other books out there waiting to be read.

[Goddess of Chaos · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Someone would come rescue me."

When Paige's ship crashes on Malum she has every reason to believe someone will come rescue her. All she has to do is stay safe and aluve, and wait for that rescue.

Crawling into Ryssi's home in search of shelter might not seem like the best way to start off her stay safe plan, but Paige stumbles into the path of a warrior who hears in her story something a touch suspicious, and fortunately for her, Ryssi decides to protect Paige as she tries to return home.

This done in one quick read has the elements of a whodunit as Ryssi works to figure out why a well maintained ship would crash, carrying an heiress. The more he learns, the more he gets Paige to reconsider events from a less trusting perspective, the more interesting the story gets.

[Latecia Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great start to the series. From the beginning when Princess Paige and Ryssi first met, I knew I was going to enjoy this paring. Not exactly hostile but not really friendly either. Eventhough this is what you would say an instalove romance..the trust between the two was a slow burn and I like it. Their sexual chemistry was off the charts while their banter was hilarious and kept me entertained. Their journey towards the truth kept this a page turner....the ending was dramatic/climatic but the couple did get their HEA. Now I'm ready to see how Andy, Ryssi brother finds his HEA in the next book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lynn Stifle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paige is the princess of Gideon, and heir to the throne. After an argument with her brother-in-law, Paige takes off in her ship to calm down a bit, and ends up crash landing on Malum, a rival planet she’s heard terrifying stories about all her life. It’s there she meets Ryssi, who shelters and helps her, and who isn’t like the stories she’s heard so much about. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eyes. Together these two go on one heck of a journey filled with betrayal, action, intrigue, steam, and romance. A great start to this series and I’m looking forward to the next book!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Shifty Bugger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book it was great, the story was written well and the characters were interesting. Paige lives on planet Gideon, she is the oldest twin and heir to the throne and to be Queen. All her family members and brother-in-law do not think she should be Queen she is not suited to the job. Paige decided to fly the spaceship to mellow out until she crashed. She found a cave and that was when she met the alien male called Rhys she was led to believe the alien's are suppose to be cruel angry!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[LA FITCH · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great alien romance. Ryssi is a Malum prince who meets the Gideon princess Paige when she climbs the cliff to his cave home. This is a light-hearted book and the characters are not meant to have any depth to them in my opinion. Paige discovers Malum is nothing like she has been taught and is not really shocked that her twin sister and her fiance are trying to kill her so they can take over Gideon. Paige is not the brightest spark but Rysssi slowly brings out her inner badass. Very entertaining and well worth reading.

[Alejandra Guerrero · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing felt very flat. I was told the characters had emotions but never actually saw them, whenever they talked they sounded way too calm and emotionless. The plot was meh, there were some plot holes here and there, and a few continuity errors. At some point, the twins’ names are interchanged for a couple of pages. Descriptions are very few and not so good, and things happen too quickly and without any build-up. She’s way too naive, crossing to TSTL territory quite a few times. And he’s supposed to be this scarred warrior prince, but comes out kinda meh.

[Dawn Bade · Rating 4 out of 5]

This girl is under the wrong impression about a lot of things surrounding her. Her eyes are opened to new ideas and how wrong she was about some things and people. It is wonderful written and she helps show others the difference between what they believe and the reality of what the truth is . It is a stand alone with a HEA and no cheating.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jeanne Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

The bones of this story are good but WTAF is going on with the editing?! It’s not even an “I’m ignorant about homonyms “ issue’ Its more like an “I suck at keyboards so I’m going to use speech wreck” problem, which might not be a problem if there was actuality someone following behind to clean up the craziness.

Three stars was generous, given the nonsense that increased as I went along. *Sigh*

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deception, attempted murder, whirlwind romance...

They had a less than friendly initial meeting, but Paige and Ryssi’s whirlwind royal romance was fun to read. The climax is a touch over dramatic, but it does wrap up everything, so it’s satisfying in that regard. And the set-up for the next book with Andy sounds exciting, so I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series.

[fred jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A super story, well written with some steamy scenes. Loved the characters and the premise, a princess crash lands and is assisted by a man living in a cave, lots of intrigue and backstabbing, the ending was a bit over the top but that is a minor detail. Highly recommended

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nancy R · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by Sophie Stern and will not be my last. I stumbled upon this one in Amazon and thought I would give it a try. Hooked right from chapter one, I devoured this read. Betrayal and romance go hand in hand as the princess of Gideon realizes her loved ones want her dead. Excellent start to a new series. Download and enjoy.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[Vinita P Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deceived

Paige is a naive Princess of Gideon with a twin sister named Piper whose engaged to be married. She argues with her sister's fiance n storms out of the castle , takes a ship to calm down, then crashes on the planet Malum.
What will she do when she's confronted with the truth about her crash?

[Tina Kimble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steamy with a bit of action scenes and emotional situations. It was a very interesting and enthralling story. I would recommend this book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lisa Bing · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great series opener, full of mystery, action, betrayal, danger and all the feelings to go with. I love how the characters grew as the story went on and the journey to their HEA was both exciting and dramatic. Now, I have to be patient for the next book ;)

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really thought the princess was going to have Malum blood and that would have been awesome. Like maybe the reason the humans on Gideon had so mantle twins was because of of the Malum. Good book and very interesting characters.

[Martha Gettle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book
This alien romance is exciting and adventurous.
It grabs you by the throat and holds on till the end.
All the twists and turns. I am pleased to be able to recommend it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Hazel Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goo

A short story but Good. This book is about greed. The heroine is destined to be queen. But there are plots being formed to stop that from happening. The hero is in self seclusion until the heroine crashes into his home. 😉😉😉

[Mrs.L.Starkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Backbone

This princess knows what she wants, the hero have pain and is loved by her.

Royalty and Loyalty wow I never suspected the King and the way he did with two birds one stone a bit surprised.

Evil twins got what they deserved

Good twins are on their way to happiness.

[Juanita E. Arp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book, it has a well written storyline filled with action and intrigue. I can't wait to read more from this author. I received this book as a Free copy to read and I voluntarily leave this review.