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The Vixen War Bride #2
Holdouts
It just got awkward... With the Va'Shen villagers home safe, Army Ranger Captain Ben Gibson is ready to settle in for an easy deployment overseeing a sleepy refueling base on the occupied enemy homeworld and its small contingent of soldiers and sailors. That is until he returns from his shower and finds the alien priestess, Alacea, sitting on the floor of his room and his interpreter frantically banging on his door with something urgent to tell him. Meanwhile, Staff Sergeant Ramirez is making inroads with the Huntresses, the alien village's hunting guild, and has been invited to come with them on a hunt. Little does he realize he is about to become someone else's prey. Because hiding not far away is a group of Va'Shen for whom the interstellar war never ended.
287 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 15, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 17, 2022
The Vixen War Bride book 2 Spoilers ahead for the first book.
It opens with Patricia explaining to Ben what the reader learned a third of the way through the first book: that Alacea and he had married by Va'shen customs. And she also realizes that his first impulse, to tell her it was a mistake, is positively dangerous. She had told him things under the belief that she was telling her husband, and would think it treacherous to have weaseled it out of her by feigning it.
Patricia gets to do more research on their wedding customs, and meanwhile, Ramirez is invited by the Huntresses on a hunt, and argues Ben into it.
The plot involves holdouts, discussions of divorce, translating from Va'shen into Va'shen, an elderly vixen whose courage the Rangers admire, misunderstandings between prisoners, an attempt to interrogate someone who doesn't know the language, and more.
It opens with Patricia explaining to Ben what the reader learned a third of the way through the first book: that Alacea and he had married by Va'shen customs. And she also realizes that his first impulse, to tell her it was a mistake, is positively dangerous. She had told him things under the belief that she was telling her husband, and would think it treacherous to have weaseled it out of her by feigning it.
Patricia gets to do more research on their wedding customs, and meanwhile, Ramirez is invited by the Huntresses on a hunt, and argues Ben into it.
The plot involves holdouts, discussions of divorce, translating from Va'shen into Va'shen, an elderly vixen whose courage the Rangers admire, misunderstandings between prisoners, an attempt to interrogate someone who doesn't know the language, and more.
February 22, 2022
I am not going to go into the general set-up, this being book 2, see book 1 for that. But this is a rare example of book two being better than book one. This is not your typical boring mil. SF. We follow the story from the first book and the big misunderstanding readers have figured out is finally revealed without any doubt to one of the formerly clueless protagonists. This is a fine story and surprisingly realistic at times. It makes what could be silly in a lesser qualified writer’s hands into fine SF or any genre really. I am glad it’s still small and personal and the meta story sometimes hinted at stays far away. Military life from pounding sand to terrain descriptions to the Hague Conventions and typical stupid operational names (Unified Resolve) and there is nothing really wrong there. There are historical references from Lee’s surrender to the siege of Bastogne and of course occupied Japan. Ramirez & Burgers are another in a long line of comic duos going back to the machine gun team in A Walk in the Sun. They are not alone. From the unusual story to the dialogue and prose, this is well written and I laughed quite often.
June 13, 2023
A really serious story, don't look at the title or book covers - it's totally misleading especially if you read some jap novels before - it's not that for sure.
I've read all 5 books (as of now) and I must say, the plot and progress is really great especially when you count it as overall and it definitely gets better and better from one book to the other.
I'm gonna mention some tags for future readers: military, tragedy, romance, no-harem, political, religion, drama, action, sci-fi (story on alien planet, no space battles etc. for what I'm really grateful)
I've read all 5 books (as of now) and I must say, the plot and progress is really great especially when you count it as overall and it definitely gets better and better from one book to the other.
I'm gonna mention some tags for future readers: military, tragedy, romance, no-harem, political, religion, drama, action, sci-fi (story on alien planet, no space battles etc. for what I'm really grateful)
August 29, 2021
Vivid Emotions And Imagery
Ben is still trying to figure out what to do about his relationship with Alacea. imperial Commandos become a problem that Alacea helps solve in her way and culture. Sergeant Ramirez gets into trouble with the Va'Shen. Hilarity ensures as he teaches a vixen huntress descriptive words in the English language. Mostly insults. I like the action, humor and romance. I look forward to the next book.
Ben is still trying to figure out what to do about his relationship with Alacea. imperial Commandos become a problem that Alacea helps solve in her way and culture. Sergeant Ramirez gets into trouble with the Va'Shen. Hilarity ensures as he teaches a vixen huntress descriptive words in the English language. Mostly insults. I like the action, humor and romance. I look forward to the next book.
July 29, 2022
Entertaining story.
This is the second book of this series, and the second to receive a 3-star review.
The continuing story is entertaining, and an easy read. I like the concept, and the language barrier parts are well written for the most part.
A couple of unnecessary grammatical errors were somewhat distracting.
I did buy the rest of the series (two more books) as I do enjoy the story and characters thus far.
This is the second book of this series, and the second to receive a 3-star review.
The continuing story is entertaining, and an easy read. I like the concept, and the language barrier parts are well written for the most part.
A couple of unnecessary grammatical errors were somewhat distracting.
I did buy the rest of the series (two more books) as I do enjoy the story and characters thus far.
July 18, 2021
Brilliant sci fi adventure
The world building is amazing, the characters are fantastic and believable, and the story is hilarious and heartbreaking. I want to use all the superlatives in this review, because this series is just that freaking good. I highly recommend both The Vixen War Bride and Holdouts. I'm looking forward to book 3!
The world building is amazing, the characters are fantastic and believable, and the story is hilarious and heartbreaking. I want to use all the superlatives in this review, because this series is just that freaking good. I highly recommend both The Vixen War Bride and Holdouts. I'm looking forward to book 3!
August 28, 2021
Very different and interesting
This is very different and interesting- I really want to see more of this world and maybe the two main characters could one day learn to love each other and be happy too in addition to everything else that is going on.
I can’t wait for the next book.
This is very different and interesting- I really want to see more of this world and maybe the two main characters could one day learn to love each other and be happy too in addition to everything else that is going on.
I can’t wait for the next book.
December 30, 2023
4 stars. This continuation is actually pretty good. The series title might give one the impression that it is one of those soft porn books that describe sex between humans and alien furry females. It is NOT. It's actually a well-written book that describes (among other themes) cultural differences between humans and a defeated alien culture.
October 10, 2021
A great book to read
I loved both. Books and found everything it them was refreshing and entertaining.I hope you are working on more books and I want to see how this all works out. Was a refreshing read and filled with rich charters.Thanks for your hard work
I loved both. Books and found everything it them was refreshing and entertaining.I hope you are working on more books and I want to see how this all works out. Was a refreshing read and filled with rich charters.Thanks for your hard work
November 13, 2022
Very good book
This is a fine light science fiction military post war occupation adventure novel. It is well written and edited. The Ramirez and Alzoria duo is hilarious. I anxiously await the sequel.
This is a fine light science fiction military post war occupation adventure novel. It is well written and edited. The Ramirez and Alzoria duo is hilarious. I anxiously await the sequel.
June 6, 2025
The military experience of the author again shines through and demonstrates his experience with the military and especially the irony and absurdity of military leadership. Its a good story and my only complaint is I feel it could have been longer.
April 3, 2024
Better than the first book.
Slow romance and plot. Seen to me, this book, like the first, is about setting things up. It's pretty enjoyable.
Slow romance and plot. Seen to me, this book, like the first, is about setting things up. It's pretty enjoyable.
June 27, 2025
This continues the quirky story about the aftermath of a interstellar war and the "occupation" that follows. Yes, the ex-enemy are cute foxes, but the challenges of language and culture are the core of the story. It's fun to see them interact, make mistakes, and then figure it out. The side characters are getting more pages, and adding to the amusement.
The writing style is still a bit bumpy, but I'm enjoying these.
The writing style is still a bit bumpy, but I'm enjoying these.
November 22, 2022
Another 4.5; good story, well executed, just didn't quite clear the full 5-star threshold for me. The story progresses, and more of the back story of the war and the bigger picture of the occupation comes out.
Third book is already out so I'll see what's next. So far I like what I'm reading, and there is just enough humour to keep it from being too heavy. At some point they'll all learn to communicate and the translation/cultural errors will reduce, changing the dynamic of the story, but for now that's what drives it.
Third book is already out so I'll see what's next. So far I like what I'm reading, and there is just enough humour to keep it from being too heavy. At some point they'll all learn to communicate and the translation/cultural errors will reduce, changing the dynamic of the story, but for now that's what drives it.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews