Verboten

Tribute Brides of the Drexian Warriors #5

by Tana Stone

Be a tribute bride for some brawny alien warrior? Not on your life.

Ella is one of the few human females who rejected her Drexian warrior match. Sent to live with the other “rejects” in a special part of the high-tech space station, she has no desire to have her life dictated by a bunch of alphas on steroids. And no way would she ever be charmed by an alien playboy.

Not only is Dakar a member of Inferno Force, which means he’s bigger, tougher, and more dangerous than other Drexian warriors, he’s also known throughout the galaxy for his ability to sweet-talk almost any female out of her panties. He’s the last warrior to desire a tribute bride, but his name has been moved to the top of the list.

When he meets the beautiful and independent Ella, he’s startled by his own feelings for her. Too bad she’s not interested in taking a mate, and he’s got a bride on the way. He knows that as a tribute reject, she’s off-limits, but he can’t seem to stay away. Can he win her over or will he need to give her up forever to fulfill his duty?

This standalone action-romance novel features steamy scenes on a holographic fantasy space station, deadly aliens hell-bent on invading Earth, and smoking-hot Drexian warriors with extra erogenous zones who are equally determined to protect Earth.

If you like hot alien warriors, spunky Earth women, and steamy romance with a happily ever after and a few laughs, you’ll love Forbidden, the fifth book in Tana Stone’s sci-fi romance Tribute Brides of the Drexian Warriors series.

Genres: Romance, Aliens, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Romance, Fantasy, Audiobook, Erotica

252 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2019

About the author

I love sexy aliens and independent heroines. I grew up on Star Trek: Next Generation and Star Wars (and I adore them equally). My favorite superhero is Thor (with Aquaman a close second because, well, Jason Momoa), my favorite dessert is key lime pie (okay, fine, all pie), and I still lament the loss of Firefly.

I live in North Carolina in the US and have one husband, two teenagers, and two neurotic cats. I sometimes wish I could teleport to a holographic space station like the one in my tribute brides series (or maybe vacation at the oasis with the sand planet barbarians). :-) When I'm not writing, I love to paddleboard, dive, travel, and read obsessively!

Want to hang out with me in my private Facebook group? Join on all the fun at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/tanas...


Reviews

[Shauna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not have high hopes for this book because of the hero. Darak was a man whore and proud of it. He slept with hookers, multiple women at the same time, and women in relationships. He was arrogant and conceited. Darak was wrong in pursuing another woman when he knew he was going to be married off any day. It wasn't fair to his would be mate or Ella. How would they feel seeing each other around the station? He just thought with his dick and considered women "pleasurable conquests". He only got Ella a job so he could screw her. He didn't tell her he was going to be mated to someone else in the near future. Such a jerk! I was mad when Ella slept with him. How could Ella not feel ashamed when people are constantly talking about Darak's slutty ways? He practically bragged about it himself.. When Ella does eventually finds out about Darak's mating (thanks to his friends) she breaks up with him. Darak then immediately goes to a bar, picks up a woman, and takes her home. He didn't go through with sex but still.... W T F. Hate this guy!! Also, why wasn't Ella angry that he had intended to sleep with Zenia? Why did she apologize for not believing in him? He was a lying man whore! She was too easy in forgiving everything he had done.. He should have suffered more.

I didn't like how the bride rejects were treated; forced to leave luxurious living conditions ,not supposed to mingle with men, isolated. Ridiculous! Why is everyone, especially the human women ok with this? Not to mention being kidnapped..

Despite me previous comments, I did enjoy the book. It was entertaining and I want to read the next story. I give the hero a 0 rating but the story, a 3..

[Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third Son, First Crush: A Drexian Dilemma



The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💚💜💙
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: 😋🙂☺️😘🥰
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Solo Narration

🛡️ Hero Spotlight: Dakar

Meet Dakar: third son, zero bride prospects, and one very dramatic promotion. He’s part of the Inferno Force, aka the Drexian Warriors’ elite squad of galactic badasses who probably bench-press starships for fun. After helping his bestie dodge a treason charge and exposing the real villain (space soap opera twist!), Dakar’s reward is… a tribute bride. Cue confetti. But plot twist! He spots Ella, a human with cheekbones that could cut glass, and decides she’s the one. One tiny problem: she’s not on the bride menu.

📸 Heroine Spotlight: Ella

Ella’s backstory is basically a tragic Lifetime movie marathon. Raised by a single mom after her dad’s brain aneurysm, she spent her youth trying to be perfect while her mom emotionally checked out. College? Dropped. Caregiving? Full-time. Debt? Enough to make a Drexian accountant cry. Basically, she’s been through the wringer and still manages to rock holographic engineering like it’s a competitive sport.

🚀 Plot Pulse

Ella gets abducted from Earth (rude) and wakes up on a space station called “The Boat”—which sounds like a cruise but is more like a cosmic dating app with mandatory marriage. She nopes out of the tribute bride program and moves to the lower floors, where she designs holographic bouquets and dodges romantic entanglements. Dakar, meanwhile, is pining like a space-sick puppy. When he finds out Ella’s a hologram wizard, he proposes a project—not marriage, just yet. But you know how these things go…

💘 What Hit Home

• Forbidden romance? Yes please.
• Mystery-solving duo with sizzling tension? Sign me up.
• Drexian-Kronock hybrid drama still bubbling in the background? Delicious continuity.

🧐 What Fell Flat

• Why are the non-bride humans off-limits? Is there a cosmic HR policy we missed?

🎧 Narration Notes

Jodie Bentley juggles dual POVs like a pro. Her emotional delivery hits the mark, though Dakar’s voice occasionally sounds like he has a frog in his throat. Normally I prefer two narrators for romance, but Bentley holds her own and keeps the story humming. Stone’s writing still slaps, and Bentley’s performance gives it extra sparkle.

📝 Final Takeaway

Alien abduction, forbidden love, holographic flower arrangements, and a warrior with a soft spot—this story is basically The Bachelor in space, but with more explosions and fewer roses. What’s not to love?

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[Harlequin Madness · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forbidden is the 5th book in the Tribute Brides of the Drexian Warriors series. Thank goodness, this book is so much better than the last one. We met Dakar in the last book. He met our Heroine, Ella, at Torvan’s wedding in the epilogue of that book. He felt an instant connection with her that he has never felt with another female. That’s some feat considering he’s a complete man whore, as well as a formidable warrior with their elite fighting group. He engineers a change of assignment for Ella, to work on the team he’s on combing through all the data they were able to retrieve from the Kronocks. Of course Ella gets a bit silly about this. She rejected her mate. She doesn’t want to be mated because someone told her she had to. So she lives with the other “rejects” (although she refers to them as “independents”) on the other side of the space station. She’s attracted to Dak but is fighting the attraction.

I really enjoyed this book, especially after how awful I thought the last one was. I loved Dakar’s character so much. His charm just oozed off the page. I could completely understand how he was able to get so many females across he galaxy to drop their panties for him. Although, dak also realizes that has created quite a reputation, and it turns out that it is not one that he is proud of. I gotta hand it to him though, he bears all the jokes, insults and ramifications of his lifestyle because he knows he deserves it. It’s his own fault. But to see him actually find someone that he’s truly in love with was both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.

Ella ran hot and cold for me. While I didn’t hate her (like I did Trista from the last book) I didn’t love her either. Ok, sometimes I did and sometimes she just irritated me. There were times her arguments, thoughts and feelings just didn’t make any sense, but at least Dak got his HEA and that was all I cared about in this book. There was a lot of the plot that was obvious, but for some reason, I wasn’t mad at it. I still enjoyed reading this book, and felt very satisfied afterward.

I do recommend this book, and the series. But read the books in order. There are so many characters from the first few books that appear in the rest of the books, so you’ll have a better appreciation for them if you’ve read their stories.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars

[Angela Plumeria · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Would have liked more romantic build up and less gossipy drama, but it was balanced by having some action scenes at least. Dakar was sexy but a bit of a screw up.

[Antonia Guindo · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok

[Elisa Llewellyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

love a regretful lothario

Drakar's preferred means of blowing off steam in-between missions is with women, however he could get them. Then he meets Ella and he's instantly intrigued. But he's supposed to settle down and she refused to be a Tribute Bride so they're doomed from the start. It's just as well that Drakar is no stranger to coming up against impossible odds.

It's about time something is said about the unfairness of the Tribute Bride system and the repercussions of being a 'reject'. It makes the whole thing seem like a glorified human trafficking trade. I'm glad these two siezed the moment!

[Lucy · Rating 1 out of 5]

So much mention of his hooking up with other women at it became a turn off.

[Preston and Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tribute Brides of the Drexian Warriors is based on the large muscled humanoid aliens with tan skin who’ve spent their lives battling the enemy aliens called the Kronock. There had been a secret treaty with Earth for the past 30 years where the Drexians have been granted permission to abduct human females in exchange for protection against the Kronock. The only conditions are that the females be unattached (with no one to shed light on their disappearance) and that the Drexians keep the secrecy of alien existence. The tribute brides are taken to a space station behind Saturn called “The Loveboat” where they are mated (married) to their Drexian warriors. The war with the Kronock is still ongoing.

Written in third person perspective, Forbidden is book 5 in this series, and follows Drexian Warrior Dakar and his human mate Ella. This is easily one of my favorites in the series. Ella is one of the reject brides who live in the working quarters because she rejected her matched warrior. She has a skill for computer coding and worked with the human Preston decorating for the tribute weddings. Dakar is an inferno force warrior for Dorn, and Torven’s (from book 4) best friend. He has a reputation for being a player, having multiple lady conquests. Dakar met Ella during Torven’s wedding ceremony, and hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since.

Like all the other books, this couple have their ups and downs, back and forths. She fights the claiming the hardest, unwilling to be another notch in his bedpost. She fights her feelings and he is a typical male idiot that makes poor decisions. One forgives the other way too easily, then things work out in their favor and they live happily ever after.

Admittedly, the dialogue “tell me your mine, and only mine,” and “this pussy belongs to only me,” made me hotter than anything else Tana has written. I guess I’m all about that dominating possessive caveman behavior. Too bad the Drexians have a bad habit of not letting their actions back up their words in public due to honor. The exhibitionism in this book is f*cking HOTT. It’s the only thing that made this book 4 starts instead of my initial 3. Unfortunately, Dakar didn’t have enough honor since his first instinct was to invite a female to his room the moment he assumed their relationship was over. Such a typical male thing to do. *eye roll* Some women fantasize about taming that bad playboy. I am not one of those women. The amount of females he slept with before Ella was cringe worthy.

I might need therapy, but that’s what books are for, right? Lol

I will continue the series since I do enjoy Tana Stone’s writing. Thankfully, the books aren’t painfully long. Although, I find it takes too long for the sexual encounters to take place and I find myself getting bored with the story at times. It might be better if the books were shorter.

[Raven61 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great PNR stories and series! Highly recommend as an escape from reality for a little while

Contains subject matter that may be a trigger or offensive to some including adult language, adult intimate scenes and violence.

This PNR has multiple themes of consensual / non consensual acts, including fighting, abduction, kidnappings, torture, death. If any of these acts are not something of interest, please do not purchase and then rate it lower than it deserves.

I am loving the storyline arc that continues throughout the various stories. The stories continue to have minimal grammatical errors and that makes it easier to stay engaged with the story. Plus, having most of the characters introduced before their actual story, makes the story universe development that much stronger.

While this could be read as a stand-alone, I highly recommend it be read in order for maximum reader satisfaction and to prevent spoilers.


Here is a high level overview of how the story begins:

Ella, a human female abducted from earth, refused to become a Tribute bride for a Drexian warrior, so she lives and works for the Boat. As an independent, or rejected Tribute bride, she is off limits to the Drexians on the Boat, but could see other aliens.

Dakar, a Drexian warrior, is known throughout the galaxy as a smooth talking stud. He even has bounties on his head on various planets, placed by the males that live there. He has definitely earned his reputation. He knows that as a 3rd son his chances of receiving a bride is almost nonexistent, so why not enjoy the beauties around him?!

Then his friend is finally marrying his Tribute bride and love of his life. When Ella shows up to pin his boutonnière on for the wedding, she takes his breath away. Suddenly he is starting to see how his reputation could come back to bite him.

I am going to stop here so I don’t accidentally provide any spoilers.

[Tammy Moldovan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When your perfect mate is forbidden

I really enjoyed Dakar and Ella’s alien-human, fated mates, forbidden romance. The Drexians have been protecting Earth for decades from the evil Kronock race. In exchange, Earth governments provide tribute brides to the Drexians. Ella is a human who was taken as a tribute bride a year ago. She rejected her Drexian match and now lives with the “reject” brides in one part of the space station. She also works with a wedding designer on the station as a holographic coder and is happy with her life and her choice. Dakar is a Drexian Inferno Force warrior and has a reputation as a ladies man. He recently helped to expose and capture Drexians who were committing treason. As a reward, he is moved up the list and is scheduled to be matched with the next tribute bride. Unfortunately, he cannot get his mind off of Ella who he met at his friend’s wedding. When Dakar and Ella start working together to go over the code related to the traitors and their communications with the Kronock, their sizzling chemistry and attraction heats up even more. Of course, she is off limits to Drexians and he is supposed to be waiting for his assigned tribute bride but feelings rarely stay in the boxes we try to keep them in. The story was well written and included witty dialogue, three dimensional characters, and an engaging storyline with sweet moments, steam, dangerous situations, alien physiology and cultures, fated mates, coincidences, plot twists, intrigue, painful pasts, missteps, and laughs.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ella is one of the human females who has rejected the concept of a Drexian warrior match and instead lives as a "reject" or independent in a special part of the high-tech space station. She is not interested in having her life dictated by an alpha alien nor being used by any playboys. Inferno Force member Dakar is known as being able to sweet talk any female out of her panties and although he is the last warrior to want a tribute bride his name is moved up the list. Then he meets beautiful and fiercely independent Ella and he is started by the strength of his own feeling for her. He knows that she is off-limits but he just cannot stay away. Can he win her over or will he have to give her up forever to fulfil his duty?

I really enjoyed this story with independent Ella and determined Dakar. Both were drawn to each other and both fell in love with each other. I loved the way that they tried hard to hide their feelings for each other from everyone else around them even though it was a pointless exercise. I loved the drama and danger due to the traitor project and the key role that Elle played in everything. Easy to read and understand. Contains explicit sexual content.

[I'm Fine, Just Tired · Rating 2 out of 5]

i wonder if we will ever get a fmc who isnt so wishy washy with their feelings. They feel one way, they do another. They change their minds so quickly it's annoying.

Our mmc in this story was a manwhore. His entire personality is how fast he can charm women into bed. And it's all anyone ever talks about. They joke about him, all the men in the book love that he is so charming and popular with women. For the reader, idk how you can get past it. Especally when we find out that command already has a bride picked out and waiting for safety to transport her. So much for Drexian honor because he falls in lust with a different human on the ship, even though he has a bride lined up for him. It was just gross.

Towards the end in the 3rd act breakup Dakar gets drunk and takes a woman home. He doesnt have sex or anything but it's yet another miscommunication trope for the story. Our fmc watches the female leave his room and gets pissed. Obviosuly. Even though he was in love with her he still tried taking another woman to bed to lick his wounds from rejection.

Whatever.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a feeling I wouldn't love this book since I don't often really love playboy/womanizer/manwhore H's and this was an issue for me in this book. I didn't like hearing about all the other women he'd been with, how easily he can pick up women and how they threw themselves at him. Not to mention that half-way through the book, when things started to heat up, he made a half-ass effort to maybe tell her that he was there to get a Tribute Bride but she shut him up in favor of continuing with their heated encounter. Obviously she didn't know what he was about to say. I just really didn't like that he was basically knowingly "cheating" on his future bride and playing around with the heroine.

I also don't like the narrator Jodie Bentle. She's not awful but she turns me off the characters for some reason, especially True (I hate the voice she chose for that character).

[JodyL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can a tribute reject find happiness?

Dakar is set to get the next Tribute bride as his mate but he can't get the image of Ella out of his mind. He is working with Torven, Kax and Dorn to get information on what the Kronock are doing and if there are any other traitors.
Ella is one of the brides who rejected her Drexian mate. She works with Preston writing code for the wedding's holographic images.
Dakar, a man that she thinks is a Casanova, sees that she knows code and she is instrumental in getting her to help learn more about their enemy.
Things don't always go as planned though. Read this book to find out why.
I love that we are introduced to a few more of the "rejects" from the bride program.

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warrior alpha aliens whose lives are spent keeping the peace but for some it is in the front lines fighting an enemy who destroys worlds. Earth doesn’t know aliens exist except for the government. A deal was made, and women are given in exchange for protection.
This fun tale sees women and warriors come together on a space station that is supposed to be a fantasy place. Except it may be stuck in a time that was relevant years ago. It takes its name from the TV series The Love Boat. There is much laughter and action to keep you occupied whilst enjoying this read.
Journey along as they learn to navigate forging ahead to a union together and fighting the bad guys. I look forward to reading the rest of this sci fi romance series.

[Talie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was almost THE book.
And he was my type, totally.
They had hot sex and connection.
But it also had too much miscommunication, push-pull & stupidity around.
Possibly no safe if you dont like ow/om drama : after h/h had sexual relations, and "broke up", he tried to drown his "sadness" with ow. Wtf. Gladly, he didn't but he TRIED. Why!!! . Also it was resolved too fast and very unrealistic. She had to apologize? Mmmh no mi ciela.
I wish that spoiler didn't happen so this book could have been a good one to me.

P.s hating the slut shamming of people sexual active and the division on brides and independent women who are rejected. Wtf.

[Jocelyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fifth book in the Tribute Brides of the Drexian Warriors Series, a Sci-Fi Alien Warrior Romance. This is a great addition to the Series. You can listen to this story as a standalone, but I recommend you to listen to this Series in order. Dakar and Ella's story is fast-paced and entertaining. They both are strong, stubborn, and determined. They are opposites attract, and I like their unexpected relationship. They share a strong chemistry. Jodie Bentley did a great job with the narration. Looking forward to listen to the next book in the Series, Bound. I love this Series!

[Alma Conchas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series so much!

Wow, each new book in this series keeps getting better and better with each new story. And I think Dak and Ella's story is my all-time favorite so far because their HEA was not easy, and they had to be together in secret because she rejected her original match. But I think once she found the one, she just fell head over heels in love with Dakar. Now I can't wait to move on to the next HEA with Shreya, who gets kidnapped by the kronok/Drexian hybrid enemy.

[Valerie Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Splendid read

As usual Tana Stone provides a scintillating read with Dakar from the previous book taking the lead role. This Lothario certainly meets his match in the shapely form of Ella, not a tribute bride but one of those who had rejected the tribute bride concept and because they could not return home, they were relegated to another less glamourous side of the station. Their meeting was electric!!

[Heather_Readsalot · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a love/hate relationship with Dakar. He's a manwh0re who ends up falling in insta-lust/insta-love with the heroine...but even with his past and reputation, he is sweet. And once he sees the h, he's 100% dedicated. You want to believe in the story of a reformed player, but the fact that he's constantly comparing her to other alien females he's been with (even though the comparisons are favorable to the h) made me want to punch him.

[mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another stubborn couple fall on the Love Boat! Dakkar & Elle are thrown together on a secret mission. both are stubborn and commited to staying single, but this is the Love Boat. I was captivated from the start, and can't wait for the next book. I received this book it exchange for my honest review.

[Minga Dotson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid tale with few typos, A strong world she created supports her great cast of characters.

An independent human, Ella, a refused tribute bride, falls for a rule breaking Inferno warrior, Dakar, and helps him with breaking the Kronack codes to find the warrior the Kronack have turned into a hybrid.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read

What I love about these books is that they are all about brides for the Drexians but each book is different and not just a copy of the one before. I loved this one it showed a different way for the humans and Derxians.

Brilliant read, can’t recommend this series enough.

[Holly Woolums · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action and Hotness nothing better

I almost gave this book 4 stars because it had such a slow start to it. I was basically reading 2 books at once. Then luckily this book picked up and I became a lot more interested. Start with something more that will grab your interest immediately before you go on to something else.

[Roberta McClain · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really wood fast read

I really liked the challenges this couple faced. Ella was more a fighter than some of the other brides who tended to shine way too much. My only change would be to explore the flood gate on second chances, sometime do workout

[Anne-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is just one heart stopping adventure after the other. Unlike the others, this story is about a human who chose not to be a tribute bride, but an independent. No male was going to control her no matter how he made her knees weak or how devastatingly stunning he was.

[Mandy Sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

These aliens are so very yummy. They seem to be perfect. I love how they act like they are in charge however once they find a mate they are putty in the women’s hands. Excellent chemistry between these characters. Excellent performance.

[Kathleen Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edge of your seat stuff

From the start I was pulling for these characters. Everything seemed to be against them. With the exciting action and intrigue surrounding them, I couldn't help but root for them. Great read.

[Roxanne M.]

Love this Drexian Warrior!

I really enjoyed the personality that you gave this Drexian ladies man!! He was very enjoyable to read about. Ella was very cool, very smart and very wanting!!