If you are reading this series, along with all the spinoffs, in chronological order, I recommend reading this BETWEEN books 3 & 4 of the Beast series. I hope Grace has plans to continue to add to this series. 🤞
The Interstellar Brides series takes place at a time where aliens are real and there are several different planets and species. There is a galactic enemy known as the hive, which is a technological species that invades planets and either kills its inhabitants or transforms their captives into one of them. A coalition was formed between the planets who are at war with the hive. Each member of the coalition is required to supply soldiers and brides to the cause. Soldiers to fight the hive, and brides to repopulate the diminished that have fallen victim to the war. There is a neurological test that a bride takes to me matched to their perfect alien planet, then their perfect alien match on that planet, through a series of sexual desires that only our subconscious can answer for. Earth allows for volunteers to apply to the program, or grants female criminals the option to become a bride over a prison sentence. Those who volunteer are paid a healthy sum of money, and those who are prisoners are given clean slates. All applicants are required to give up their Earth citizenship to become a resident of their new chosen planet. A bride has 30 days to accept or reject their match. If they accept their claim, they are mated to their new alien husband for the rest of their lives where they are expected to make babies. If they reject their mate, they are assigned a new one on that same planet. Where they are still expected to make babies. Warden Egara makes continued appearances throughout the series as she is the one who processes the brides in the United States. The Colony Series takes place alongside the interstellar bride series, but focuses solely on the residents of the Colony. The colony houses veterans of war, tainted with Hive technology. They cannot return to their home worlds because of their cyborg hive tech, so they live the remainder of their lives on the colony. Brides can be matched to a soldier living on the colony as they can also test for the matchmaking system like everyone else. As the books progress, more brides specifically request the Colony instead of another coalition planet.
Written in first person, Claimed by the Cyborgs is book 9 in this series and follows the human bride Danika Gray and her alien cyborg mates Prince Thomar Arcas and his second Captain Varin Mordin from the planet Prillion Prime. Danika was a prisoner who killed her abusive stepfather and tried as an adult for premeditated murder at 17. She waited to volunteer for the interstellar bride program until after she knew her little brother was safe and taken care of. Prince Arcas was part of a family that was dishonored by an ancient relative who killed his mate. Because of that, anyone with royal Arcas blood was shunned and treated poorly by the Prillion people, yet he and his second still maintained honor through the hive war. Varin’s own family disowned him after he chose to become Arcas’ second. They both were captured by the hive and tortured for years before they could escape. Part of their torture involved their mating collars, which were attached to them unnaturally and connected the two as one being. Thomar was in constant pain and ready to die in order to save Varin from his pain and agony, but Danika was having none of that. She refused to give up on either mate, nor would she allow either mate to give her up. She succeeded, they claimed her, saved a bunch of women and children from Nexus 5, and restored honor to the Arcas name by Prime Nial. But not before her collar took on the same hive behavior and melded with her body, making her one with the Nexus and hive.
This was one of my least favorite books. Too much contradiction and denial for my liking. “I can’t claim her, she is mine. I must let her go, I love her. I never should have claimed her, I can’t live without her because she is my everything. Yes, no, maybe?” And that was just Thomar. Like, make up your damn mind and stick with it. Jesus. Thankfully, Varin was a little less contradictory. The moment he had her against the wall, he decided that he was keeping Danika regardless of what Thomar did. I was thankful that at least someone knew what they wanted and took it. The ending was probably my biggest pet peeve. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that Nial restored honor to the Arcas name, even publicly. But Danika accepting a job offer by the Queen on the condition that she be allowed to be claimed publicly in the arena with the universe as a witness? Um, okay. It was hot when Jessica did it, but I just got desperate vibes from this one. Danika was standing around butt-ass naked while everyone decided to have a conversation about whether they would live or not. Not to mention, the three already had their claiming ceremony in a conference room before their mission. So a second one was overkill. Meh, I’m glad they got their happy ending. If anyone deserved it, it was those three. 🫶🏻
Prillions are humanoid. They’re larger and stronger than humans but smaller and weaker than Atlans. Their mating collars allow for the wearers to experience each other’s emotions. They are also an alien species that mate in pairs, assigning a second so in the event one dies, their mate and offspring will never be alone and uncared for. Should an alien mate die, the surviving mate would select a new second to fill their shoes.
There have been way too many romance novels I’ve read that had me frustrated and yelling “Jesus Christ, when are they gonna fuck?! Get to the good shit already!” When we’re 50% in, and the main characters have barely kissed each other, leaves readers like me aggravated. Don’t get me wrong, I love me a well written buildup to sex, but most are anticlimactic. This is NOT one of those books. While Grace Goodwin has added more adventures as the series progressed, it is still, quite literally, word porn.
As I’ve read through this series and all its spin offs, I can attest that the plot is incredibly addictive. Aside from the individual love stories, the hive is an enemy I love reading about. I am way too invested in each book, in all its adventure and romance. This book was no exception. Highly recommend.