What do you think?
Rate this book
Xiveri Mates #1
Taken to Voraxia
Miari
Here's what I know: aliens invade our colony every three years, hunt and claim the most beautiful of our women, then leave. Here's what I don't know: why the king of them is here this time, and why his black, glittering eyes are trained on me.
A hybrid with red alien skin and brown human eyes, I'm not pretty. I've got no family and no plans to ever have one – least of all with this monster of a male. I'm an inventor, a mechanic, a tinkerer. The alien king wants me for reasons I can only guess at, but I'm not about to be taken for a slave and his response to me is something I know I can engineer my way out of.
He plans to come back for me when I'm of age, but he'll have to find me first. Our little colony is a scary, desperate place and I'm less afraid to face it, than to face him or the strange, alien sensations he stirs...
Raku
She is my Xiveri mate, yet she runs from me – straight into the horrors of her small, savage moon colony. Slaughtering in her defense is easy, while gaining her trust will be the true challenge.
She fears my kind and the horrors my treacherous general has inflicted on her humans. Does she not know that it is my blood rite to keep her safe against him and his even more dangerous off-world allies? No, she thinks herself my slave and in place of acceptance, offers me only pacts and bargains. Shamed by her pacts, I still take them all gluttonously, because though she knows only hate, I know only need.
Eventually, we will need more than just these pacts between us if I am to convince her that she is my Xiveri mate and if she is to take her place at my side, not as my slave, but as Voraxia's queen.
Taken to Voraxia is a full-length, standalone, interracial, SciFi romance complete with an alpha alien overlord, warrior heroine, fated mates who are also enemies-to-lovers, world building and extra steamy bits. All Xiveri Mates books can be read as standalones, each one with a guaranteed HEA. NO cheating, harem or love triangles. Some dark themes, illusions to abuse, and debatable consent due to intergalactic cultural misunderstandings may be trigger warnings.
Here's what I know: aliens invade our colony every three years, hunt and claim the most beautiful of our women, then leave. Here's what I don't know: why the king of them is here this time, and why his black, glittering eyes are trained on me.
A hybrid with red alien skin and brown human eyes, I'm not pretty. I've got no family and no plans to ever have one – least of all with this monster of a male. I'm an inventor, a mechanic, a tinkerer. The alien king wants me for reasons I can only guess at, but I'm not about to be taken for a slave and his response to me is something I know I can engineer my way out of.
He plans to come back for me when I'm of age, but he'll have to find me first. Our little colony is a scary, desperate place and I'm less afraid to face it, than to face him or the strange, alien sensations he stirs...
Raku
She is my Xiveri mate, yet she runs from me – straight into the horrors of her small, savage moon colony. Slaughtering in her defense is easy, while gaining her trust will be the true challenge.
She fears my kind and the horrors my treacherous general has inflicted on her humans. Does she not know that it is my blood rite to keep her safe against him and his even more dangerous off-world allies? No, she thinks herself my slave and in place of acceptance, offers me only pacts and bargains. Shamed by her pacts, I still take them all gluttonously, because though she knows only hate, I know only need.
Eventually, we will need more than just these pacts between us if I am to convince her that she is my Xiveri mate and if she is to take her place at my side, not as my slave, but as Voraxia's queen.
Taken to Voraxia is a full-length, standalone, interracial, SciFi romance complete with an alpha alien overlord, warrior heroine, fated mates who are also enemies-to-lovers, world building and extra steamy bits. All Xiveri Mates books can be read as standalones, each one with a guaranteed HEA. NO cheating, harem or love triangles. Some dark themes, illusions to abuse, and debatable consent due to intergalactic cultural misunderstandings may be trigger warnings.
410 pages, Paperback
First published April 8, 2020
1314 people are currently reading
4373 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Stephens
79 books1,392 followersTop 10 USA Today Bestselling author Elizabeth Stephens writes books where beastly men—or sometimes just beasts—always get the girl.
A full-time hybrid indie and traditionally published author, Elizabeth is best known for her Supers in the City series (Montlake) and her indie works like The Bone King and the Starling and Dark City Omega. In all of her books, readers can expect diverse casts, epic world-building, quests with unexpected twists, and women of color being celebrated loudly, Black and biracial women in particular.
When she isn’t writing, you might find Elizabeth enjoying the outdoors of the Pacific Northwest or traveling and making adventures of her own with her husband, tiny humans, and doggo, King Louis.
A full-time hybrid indie and traditionally published author, Elizabeth is best known for her Supers in the City series (Montlake) and her indie works like The Bone King and the Starling and Dark City Omega. In all of her books, readers can expect diverse casts, epic world-building, quests with unexpected twists, and women of color being celebrated loudly, Black and biracial women in particular.
When she isn’t writing, you might find Elizabeth enjoying the outdoors of the Pacific Northwest or traveling and making adventures of her own with her husband, tiny humans, and doggo, King Louis.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 710 reviews
March 6, 2023
I found the book to be very intriguing; it took me on a thrilling adventure through a richly imagined alien world. While the book was enjoyable, it did have some drawbacks that prevented it from being a five-star read.
One issue I had with the book was its pacing, which felt uneven at times. Some parts of the story felt rushed while others dragged on, making it difficult to maintain a consistent level of engagement. Besides, the characters lacked depth, which made it hard to connect with them on an emotional level.
Despite these flaws, the book had some standout moments. The world-building was particularly impressive, with the author creating a believable and fascinating alien planet with its own distinct cultures and customs. I'm not usually a fan of insta-lust stories, but I really liked how this one turned out. Smutty part was written perfectly.
One issue I had with the book was its pacing, which felt uneven at times. Some parts of the story felt rushed while others dragged on, making it difficult to maintain a consistent level of engagement. Besides, the characters lacked depth, which made it hard to connect with them on an emotional level.
Despite these flaws, the book had some standout moments. The world-building was particularly impressive, with the author creating a believable and fascinating alien planet with its own distinct cultures and customs. I'm not usually a fan of insta-lust stories, but I really liked how this one turned out. Smutty part was written perfectly.
June 27, 2020
For starters this book has a ton of made up alien language in use. The A provides a how to pronounce it glossary, but NO definitions. Most were able to be figured out their meaning fairly easy, but it made for a choppy reading experience. Wait, how do you even pronounce this? What does it mean? And they were so common.
And NO one could go by there given name. Uh, what? Yeah, so apparently their name given to them by their parents are their "slave" name. But then as adults everyone is called the exact same thing based on their profession / status. How is this any better? It's not and it was confusing also. Because then Miari ends up with like 10 titles in this book. And it's all bouncing around between the different up words for mate and queen etc.
This was NOT a smooth ride.
Sp oi ler ish con tent ahead!
Then we have the whole race angle where it's this alien species holding judgment against this one. And then the main h, Miari, in this one is a hybrid between human and some other Dra'kesh alien race, who by the way none of the alien races are really ever defined and described good except this blue blob kind later on in book, and everyone apparently hates her because of her mixed heritage from the human colony.
Also, what happened to Earth? What year is this supposedly?
There is a human colony that sounds like it is mainly made up of African Americans, though they don't go by this terminology anymore.
The aliens come to the colony once a year to "hunt", which means to forcibly r a p e the designated women. Apparently some council struck this deal with this alien species, mix of species?, it's never really made clear if all these species Dra'Kesh and Voraxians are the same, but just on different planets or what, to come there yearly to pillage their women in exchange for this dome over their settlement and so the evil council, that also has some wacky name but apparently are human to horde everything for themselves.
The main comes and he's like wait, how has this been going on under my nose and I didn't know?! But he still basically wants to hu mp his fated mate right then and there.
When he returns in a year when she's old enough supposedly to take her, her two friends help her hide. Now these girls are considered TRAITORS and will have to face A TRIAL BY COMBAT!!! UH HELLO?! This is so wrong because one, these people HAD NO IDEA that fated mates are a thing and they thought you were just coming to force them again, they didn't know! When you learn this then your moronic law should be changed or not apply to them. But nope, it's still going strong well into book two. I did end up trying book two to see if it gets any better, it's actually worse. The big time R worded girl from this book is the heroine in book two and she basically has the same thing happen. How did her mate over the course of a month when she was healing not get told to be gentle with her? Nope, then her friends apologize for somehow over the course of a month not telling him not to freak her out. Then he proceeds to tell his entire village what happened to her, the R word, by this other alien. Thanks for telling her business to everyone. She briefly mentions this is bad and then some other character is like no we see you as stronger and they basically forget all about it. Umm I'd frankly just be mad he told everyone her business no matter what it was without speaking to her first.
Now back to one, the H never really gets what a real relationship is in the entire book. This species is still all oh fated mates, but there's no love there and they still have these weird cultural aspects. Once the kid is old enough, they turn them out on their own and have nothing else to do with them.
Just in general this book wasn't smooth, I didn't feel any real love and I couldn't get over how basically ignorant oblivious stupid this alien species was to keep treating these human women the way they did. Seriously, trial by combat when they thought you were there to just R them some more? No thanks.
This is somewhat very similar to another series that is out now. So much so that when it started I felt like this was a knock off brand version or copy cat series.
The writing wasn't bad, so some props for that. But I just couldn't find anything overly unique or intriguing to really keep my attention.
Did not consider it "dark" though some who have triggers would likely be bothered.
Also, what's with the high tech alien race living in trees like they're primitive???
Can't say if you should try it or not, but if any of the stuff mentioned above annoys you, perhaps don't? But if you're bored and desperately searching and you like the stuff above, then try it. Thank goodness it's in KU!
And NO one could go by there given name. Uh, what? Yeah, so apparently their name given to them by their parents are their "slave" name. But then as adults everyone is called the exact same thing based on their profession / status. How is this any better? It's not and it was confusing also. Because then Miari ends up with like 10 titles in this book. And it's all bouncing around between the different up words for mate and queen etc.
This was NOT a smooth ride.
Sp oi ler ish con tent ahead!
Then we have the whole race angle where it's this alien species holding judgment against this one. And then the main h, Miari, in this one is a hybrid between human and some other Dra'kesh alien race, who by the way none of the alien races are really ever defined and described good except this blue blob kind later on in book, and everyone apparently hates her because of her mixed heritage from the human colony.
Also, what happened to Earth? What year is this supposedly?
There is a human colony that sounds like it is mainly made up of African Americans, though they don't go by this terminology anymore.
The aliens come to the colony once a year to "hunt", which means to forcibly r a p e the designated women. Apparently some council struck this deal with this alien species, mix of species?, it's never really made clear if all these species Dra'Kesh and Voraxians are the same, but just on different planets or what, to come there yearly to pillage their women in exchange for this dome over their settlement and so the evil council, that also has some wacky name but apparently are human to horde everything for themselves.
The main comes and he's like wait, how has this been going on under my nose and I didn't know?! But he still basically wants to hu mp his fated mate right then and there.
When he returns in a year when she's old enough supposedly to take her, her two friends help her hide. Now these girls are considered TRAITORS and will have to face A TRIAL BY COMBAT!!! UH HELLO?! This is so wrong because one, these people HAD NO IDEA that fated mates are a thing and they thought you were just coming to force them again, they didn't know! When you learn this then your moronic law should be changed or not apply to them. But nope, it's still going strong well into book two. I did end up trying book two to see if it gets any better, it's actually worse. The big time R worded girl from this book is the heroine in book two and she basically has the same thing happen. How did her mate over the course of a month when she was healing not get told to be gentle with her? Nope, then her friends apologize for somehow over the course of a month not telling him not to freak her out. Then he proceeds to tell his entire village what happened to her, the R word, by this other alien. Thanks for telling her business to everyone. She briefly mentions this is bad and then some other character is like no we see you as stronger and they basically forget all about it. Umm I'd frankly just be mad he told everyone her business no matter what it was without speaking to her first.
Now back to one, the H never really gets what a real relationship is in the entire book. This species is still all oh fated mates, but there's no love there and they still have these weird cultural aspects. Once the kid is old enough, they turn them out on their own and have nothing else to do with them.
Just in general this book wasn't smooth, I didn't feel any real love and I couldn't get over how basically ignorant oblivious stupid this alien species was to keep treating these human women the way they did. Seriously, trial by combat when they thought you were there to just R them some more? No thanks.
This is somewhat very similar to another series that is out now. So much so that when it started I felt like this was a knock off brand version or copy cat series.
The writing wasn't bad, so some props for that. But I just couldn't find anything overly unique or intriguing to really keep my attention.
Did not consider it "dark" though some who have triggers would likely be bothered.
Also, what's with the high tech alien race living in trees like they're primitive???
Can't say if you should try it or not, but if any of the stuff mentioned above annoys you, perhaps don't? But if you're bored and desperately searching and you like the stuff above, then try it. Thank goodness it's in KU!
August 18, 2022
A whole new world!
The following ratings are out of 5:
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Romance: 💚🖤💙❤️💜
Heat: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌍
Character development: 😒😚🥲😍
The heroine: Miari - she is a mechanic and an inventor. She speaks out against the aliens who invade their planet each rotation (three years). Every time they invade, all the females between 7 and 15 rotations old have to kneel naked when the ship lands and the aliens disembark, those chosen by an alien are hunted for breeding purposes. It all happens again each rotation. Miari is not yet of age until the next rotation. Though she feels she would not be chosen anyway, since she is a half-breed of the hunt and her mother died giving birth.
The Hero: Raku - he is the Raku (King) of Voraxia. He has decided to see what his General Boraku has been doing each rotation when he and his men go off to one of the small colony planets that is so unremarkable it has no name. He is surprised to find that the colonists are fearful of him and have no basic necessities, such as translators.
The Story: Raku sees Miari and knows immediately she is his Xiveri mate. He is astounded to see that she couldn’t understand him and is afraid of him. Miari’s friend Svera had learned the language and is able to translate but they don’t understand what a Xiveri mat is. All they know is that in the next rotation when Miari is of age, Raku will return for her and will take her off world.
Miari and her friend Kiki run during the next rotation at the time the Voraxians are set to return. Kiki was already of age during the last few rotations and due to her beauty was the one chosen by the evil Boraku. She no longer speaks due to what she went through. They take to the sewers and break through to a cave that goes outside the Drolax dome that keeps the humans safe from the creatures that roam the rest of the planet. They end up regretting their actions.
This book introduced Va’Raku who also found his Xiveri mate in Kiki and Miari’s friend Svera who helped Miari when she ran away and was taken aboard Raku’s ship to a warrior named Krisxox. This all sets up the second and fourth books in the series and the couples involved in those books.
I don’t want to go into more of the plot but to say this is another alien romance that is unique in it’s storyline. Not only is the heroine a human/alien hybrid, but they are not from earth. The book is told in dual points of view by duet narration, which I was surprised and delighted with. Narration was done by Benjamin Charles and Blaire LeBlanc. I don’t believe I have ever heard these two before but they do a great job. Blaire has a soft voice with a pleasing tone and Benjamin has a deep voice which works well for Raku.
One thing I did not like about this one was the fact that so many foreign words were used. I know it is genuine that there would be language differences between alien races as well as foreign concepts that would need their own words. However, you would think once they have translators, most words would be the same. It just got a bit distracting for me.
Blog|Goodreads|Facebook|Instagram|Twitter|BookBub
The following ratings are out of 5:
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Romance: 💚🖤💙❤️💜
Heat: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌍
Character development: 😒😚🥲😍
The heroine: Miari - she is a mechanic and an inventor. She speaks out against the aliens who invade their planet each rotation (three years). Every time they invade, all the females between 7 and 15 rotations old have to kneel naked when the ship lands and the aliens disembark, those chosen by an alien are hunted for breeding purposes. It all happens again each rotation. Miari is not yet of age until the next rotation. Though she feels she would not be chosen anyway, since she is a half-breed of the hunt and her mother died giving birth.
The Hero: Raku - he is the Raku (King) of Voraxia. He has decided to see what his General Boraku has been doing each rotation when he and his men go off to one of the small colony planets that is so unremarkable it has no name. He is surprised to find that the colonists are fearful of him and have no basic necessities, such as translators.
The Story: Raku sees Miari and knows immediately she is his Xiveri mate. He is astounded to see that she couldn’t understand him and is afraid of him. Miari’s friend Svera had learned the language and is able to translate but they don’t understand what a Xiveri mat is. All they know is that in the next rotation when Miari is of age, Raku will return for her and will take her off world.
Miari and her friend Kiki run during the next rotation at the time the Voraxians are set to return. Kiki was already of age during the last few rotations and due to her beauty was the one chosen by the evil Boraku. She no longer speaks due to what she went through. They take to the sewers and break through to a cave that goes outside the Drolax dome that keeps the humans safe from the creatures that roam the rest of the planet. They end up regretting their actions.
This book introduced Va’Raku who also found his Xiveri mate in Kiki and Miari’s friend Svera who helped Miari when she ran away and was taken aboard Raku’s ship to a warrior named Krisxox. This all sets up the second and fourth books in the series and the couples involved in those books.
I don’t want to go into more of the plot but to say this is another alien romance that is unique in it’s storyline. Not only is the heroine a human/alien hybrid, but they are not from earth. The book is told in dual points of view by duet narration, which I was surprised and delighted with. Narration was done by Benjamin Charles and Blaire LeBlanc. I don’t believe I have ever heard these two before but they do a great job. Blaire has a soft voice with a pleasing tone and Benjamin has a deep voice which works well for Raku.
One thing I did not like about this one was the fact that so many foreign words were used. I know it is genuine that there would be language differences between alien races as well as foreign concepts that would need their own words. However, you would think once they have translators, most words would be the same. It just got a bit distracting for me.
Blog|Goodreads|Facebook|Instagram|Twitter|BookBub
February 3, 2021
Yinz all know I love my smutty sci fi. I’ve been looking for another Ruby Dixon -esque type series. I wanted to love this one. Starting out I see a glossary for a new alien language ( very Kristen Ashley Golden Dynasty vibe right off) This story then starts out like many sci fi tropes with a hunt, fated mate etc....... This hunt sounds like no fun at all for these women and this entire book these girls are threatened with rape. So trigger warning to those who can’t read this type of story. I was hoping for alien fluff, but this was a nerve wracking story whole way through. It needs a good editor. At times I couldn’t tell whose point of view I was reading and there are many inconsistencies. The alien language words all seem the same when reading them and I got tired of going back and looking them up , so I just didn’t bother. I didn’t really feel much warmth between these two main characters. Not enough world building explanation is given. But I’ll read the next, we are given the side characters whose stories are next and I want to see how these pan out. So, tough to call the stars on this one. I could see some people loving it and five starring and some slapping it with one. I’ll go with three. ✨
February 2, 2021
This is the second book by this author I’ve read and again got to say the world-building here is absolutely phenomenal.
I actually started this series backwards reading book three first which is set in the same universe but is also a complete standalone that book blew me away and this one definitely didn’t disappoint either.
Book three did have a slight edge for me in terms of my overall enjoyment but this first book came a very close second to it.
The vivid descriptions and the way this enveloped me within the story itself was just brilliant and even with all the alien names and terminology it just enriched the entire experience for me.
So in this first book in the series, Miari is a hybrid human living on a remote moon of Voraxia.
All females of age have to participate in a barbaric practice called the hunt a pact made between the human council and the Dra’Kesh in return they keep the barrier up to shield the humans from the savage beasts that roam there home-world.
The time for this selection has again arrived and the human settlement has been brought to the attention of Raku the leader of Voraxia.
Recognising that the small human hybrid is his Xiveri mate His future Rakukanna he fights his own instincts to instantly claim her giving her the rotation she asks for which is three years to prepare before he returns to claim her.
Not realising straight away the extent of the deception played on him by one of his own or the fear and ignorance of his new mate Raku or Xoran (which is his given name) faces an uphill battle one where he will have to build trust and bridges along the way.
So this was excellent and really well done both Miari and Xoran were very likeable individuals.
I liked how reasonable and pragmatic Miari was how she was willing to give Xoran a chance when she realised his ignorance of her people’s plight, she wasn’t a drama queen and I quite liked that about her.
Xoran was a product of his culture and with his new mate, he learned to really feel and though he initially struggled with his emotions feeling them a weakness I did like how he swiftly evolved from this overcoming and realising that there bond and connection together only made them both stronger.
I also appreciated that though he felt his position prevented him from apologising directly he did try to make amends and was utterly disgusted and enraged at what had befallen the humans under his watch and also determined to set things right.
There was a great deal of cultural differences to overcome with this one and this also has a lot of setup as well for what’s to come in future books I’m interested to see where that goes.
Oh and I adored how Xoran’s people showed their internal emotions with all the changing colours on there face ridges that really was such an imaginative touch.
Overall this one is definitely a cut above the usual sci-fi romance and it definitely stands out from the crowd.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of Taken to Voraxia (Xiveri Mates #1)
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com
October 1, 2021
This book is unlike anything I have ever read in the sci fi genre and I absolutely devoured it.
April 4, 2020
**ARC received in exchange of an honest review**
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
OMG!!OMG!!
What a fabulous read. I totally love the world Elizabeth has created in this first book of the whole series. I am completely smitten with the Raku and his tactics. All the good characters who have been introduced in this book are very well described.
Plotting is great. I was practically flowing in the galaxy with them❤️
Voraxia is a place which is beyond the scope of human lives but somehow our heroine has managed to reach there....how?? that I won't reveal. But I must say this book is a far cry from all the normal and meh books we read.
Definitely recommended to all the book lovers.
Can't wait for the whole series to be completed.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
OMG!!OMG!!
What a fabulous read. I totally love the world Elizabeth has created in this first book of the whole series. I am completely smitten with the Raku and his tactics. All the good characters who have been introduced in this book are very well described.
Plotting is great. I was practically flowing in the galaxy with them❤️
Voraxia is a place which is beyond the scope of human lives but somehow our heroine has managed to reach there....how?? that I won't reveal. But I must say this book is a far cry from all the normal and meh books we read.
Definitely recommended to all the book lovers.
Can't wait for the whole series to be completed.
August 1, 2024
July 31, 2024
Still love it!
March 30, 2022
4 1/2 "Culture Shock"
I absolutely loved this story. It was so perfect for my mood.
Humans were living on an alien moon because Earth was no longer an option. Of course they need protection from the local wildlife and maybe even invaders, so they make a deal for protection from the aliens that find them. The Drakesh. They want a breeding hunt. Yep. That's just exactly what it sounds like. So human women of a certain age have to be made available for this hunt. The alien warriors were cruel and humiliating. Causing the women only suffering and heartache. Now the Raku- King of the Voraxians- the leader of the Quadrant (There was a lot of terminology to learn.) himself wants to claim Miari as his own. She was having non of that! Being only 1 of 2 of the hybrid children to survived the results of these hunts, Miari knows being claimed by one of the Voraxians will only bring pain, maybe even death. But could she be completely wrong about Raku? And every one of his intentions?
I was sucked right into this story from the very first word! To be honest, it took me a little while to get used to the "language", prefixes, all the words that started with X, and just the terminology of the world. That was why this was 4 stars, not 5. That aside, I loved it. Raku was an autocratic savage! I loved him. Miari was so smart, bold, brave, and kind. I loved her too.
This series is about to become my newest obsession. Side characters were on point! Happy reading!!
Still love it!
March 30, 2022
4 1/2 "Culture Shock"
I absolutely loved this story. It was so perfect for my mood.
Humans were living on an alien moon because Earth was no longer an option. Of course they need protection from the local wildlife and maybe even invaders, so they make a deal for protection from the aliens that find them. The Drakesh. They want a breeding hunt. Yep. That's just exactly what it sounds like. So human women of a certain age have to be made available for this hunt. The alien warriors were cruel and humiliating. Causing the women only suffering and heartache. Now the Raku- King of the Voraxians- the leader of the Quadrant (There was a lot of terminology to learn.) himself wants to claim Miari as his own. She was having non of that! Being only 1 of 2 of the hybrid children to survived the results of these hunts, Miari knows being claimed by one of the Voraxians will only bring pain, maybe even death. But could she be completely wrong about Raku? And every one of his intentions?
I was sucked right into this story from the very first word! To be honest, it took me a little while to get used to the "language", prefixes, all the words that started with X, and just the terminology of the world. That was why this was 4 stars, not 5. That aside, I loved it. Raku was an autocratic savage! I loved him. Miari was so smart, bold, brave, and kind. I loved her too.
This series is about to become my newest obsession. Side characters were on point! Happy reading!!
September 27, 2021
**4.25** This sci-fi story was such a refreshing take on this genre. The story begins on a human colony planet. These humans are suffering, they are at the mercy of a group of aliens from Voraxia. Each year there is a ‘hunt’, where a lottery is pulled and young women are chased down and raped by these alien men. Then the men leave, having enjoyed a lovely afternoon of pillaging. The women left behind are often in very bad shape. If pregnant, they have to abort the fetus as the only full-term hybrids have killed their mothers at birth. Miari is one of only two hybrids on the planet.
This book has fabulous world building, wonderful, deeply rich characters, and a massive amount of cultural differences. It reminded me of The Golden Dynasty and Warprize, with the language and culture barrier and the confusion over what role Miari has to Xoran.
Xoran is the leader of Voraxia and didn’t realize some of his men had been brutalizing this colony of humans. This is insta-love and fated mates, it’s also miscommunication and smokin hot alien anatomy bedroom scenes with tails and three testicles. I loved the diversity of aliens and cultures in this book.
I thought this was an excellent first book in this world and I’m very much looking forward to continuing this series!
Side note, Elizabeth Stevens, this book cover is GORGEOUS! I’m so tired of headless, muscled torsos on the covers of books like this. Bravo!!
This book has fabulous world building, wonderful, deeply rich characters, and a massive amount of cultural differences. It reminded me of The Golden Dynasty and Warprize, with the language and culture barrier and the confusion over what role Miari has to Xoran.
Xoran is the leader of Voraxia and didn’t realize some of his men had been brutalizing this colony of humans. This is insta-love and fated mates, it’s also miscommunication and smokin hot alien anatomy bedroom scenes with tails and three testicles. I loved the diversity of aliens and cultures in this book.
My red feet against his blue ones. Red blue red blue. Six toes, where I only have five.And the descriptions of the Voraxians!
I see the blue, purple, grey, red, green, orange and the other jeweled skin tones of Voraxians of all kinds glimmering amongst one another as my people meet and mingle and honor one another.There was a lot of alien language or terms that confused me. This isn’t the fault of the author as I was too lazy to scroll back to the beginning of the book to look those words up.
I thought this was an excellent first book in this world and I’m very much looking forward to continuing this series!
Side note, Elizabeth Stevens, this book cover is GORGEOUS! I’m so tired of headless, muscled torsos on the covers of books like this. Bravo!!
January 26, 2023
⭐⭐⭐/5
Overall impression: I had high hopes for Taken to Voraxia because it promised alien diversity, cool tech and the fated mates trope. Unfortunately, it didn't quite deliver and ended up being like 1000s of other sci-fi romance novels. I started getting a bit bored towards the end and had to force myself through the last 100 pages. Luckily I had the physical copy of the book, so this one didn't quite end up in my dnf graveyard.
✅ Alpha MMC / strong FMC
✅ Dual POV
✅ Enemies to lovers
✅ Fated mates
✅ Alien anatomy and diversity (I never knew tails could be so sexy)
✅ Lots of spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️
✅ Pretty book cover
⚖️ Reused plot
⚖️ Average world-building
❌ Lack of sci-fi tech (esp. considering Miari is an engineer)
❌ A bit long for the plot depth
❌ Females only role as breeders
❌ The words 'breeding belt' existed
1️⃣ Sci-fi that lacked sci-fi.
Sci-fi romance usually goes one of two ways:
1) Heavy on the world-building and dense plot +/- sprinkle of enemies-to-loves/fated mates/slow burn romance.
2) Absolute zero world-building and plot, with 99% of the story revolving around the alpha males .
Elizabeth Stephens did something a bit different and tried to carve out a little section of the galaxy for herself. Unfortunately, it backfired and we were delivered something re-used and dull - but at least it wasn't just full of smut and there was an attempt at a storyline. Normally, I'd just brush it off and move on. But I feel let down considering Miari was introduced as a cool alien hybrid engineer. I expected Elizabeth to spend a little bit of time explaining the alien technology or introducing new concepts but this was missed entirely. Random tools were thrown in and somehow invented for plot convenience but that's not fun to read. Miari ended up shifting from an interesting and strong FMC to a housewife that was expected to just pump out children. Not the most inspiring character development.
The colours that Voraxian males showed were also never explained. Miari would guess what mood Raku was in but we never actually got an explanation as to what each colour meant. It was frustrating and took away the enjoyment of them having this cool species trait.
2️⃣ The plot speed was confusing.
There were scenes that dragged on endlessly (esp. at the start when Miari and Raku miscommunicated) and then there were scenes that were completely glossed over and finished in a few paragraphs (i.e. ). With a good edit, this could be fixed and the story made more enjoyable. But right now, I'm bored and can't even be bothered finishing the review because reading this book made me tired.
Side note: the storyline is probably going to be identical for the rest of the series, so I'm going to cut ties with the Xiveri Mates series here. What a shame - the covers would have looked pretty on my bookshelf.
Overall impression: I had high hopes for Taken to Voraxia because it promised alien diversity, cool tech and the fated mates trope. Unfortunately, it didn't quite deliver and ended up being like 1000s of other sci-fi romance novels. I started getting a bit bored towards the end and had to force myself through the last 100 pages. Luckily I had the physical copy of the book, so this one didn't quite end up in my dnf graveyard.
✅ Alpha MMC / strong FMC
✅ Dual POV
✅ Enemies to lovers
✅ Fated mates
✅ Alien anatomy and diversity (I never knew tails could be so sexy)
✅ Lots of spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️
✅ Pretty book cover
⚖️ Reused plot
⚖️ Average world-building
❌ Lack of sci-fi tech (esp. considering Miari is an engineer)
❌ A bit long for the plot depth
❌ Females only role as breeders
❌ The words 'breeding belt' existed
1️⃣ Sci-fi that lacked sci-fi.
Sci-fi romance usually goes one of two ways:
1) Heavy on the world-building and dense plot +/- sprinkle of enemies-to-loves/fated mates/slow burn romance.
2) Absolute zero world-building and plot, with 99% of the story revolving around the alpha males .
Elizabeth Stephens did something a bit different and tried to carve out a little section of the galaxy for herself. Unfortunately, it backfired and we were delivered something re-used and dull - but at least it wasn't just full of smut and there was an attempt at a storyline. Normally, I'd just brush it off and move on. But I feel let down considering Miari was introduced as a cool alien hybrid engineer. I expected Elizabeth to spend a little bit of time explaining the alien technology or introducing new concepts but this was missed entirely. Random tools were thrown in and somehow invented for plot convenience but that's not fun to read. Miari ended up shifting from an interesting and strong FMC to a housewife that was expected to just pump out children. Not the most inspiring character development.
The colours that Voraxian males showed were also never explained. Miari would guess what mood Raku was in but we never actually got an explanation as to what each colour meant. It was frustrating and took away the enjoyment of them having this cool species trait.
2️⃣ The plot speed was confusing.
There were scenes that dragged on endlessly (esp. at the start when Miari and Raku miscommunicated) and then there were scenes that were completely glossed over and finished in a few paragraphs (i.e. ). With a good edit, this could be fixed and the story made more enjoyable. But right now, I'm bored and can't even be bothered finishing the review because reading this book made me tired.
Side note: the storyline is probably going to be identical for the rest of the series, so I'm going to cut ties with the Xiveri Mates series here. What a shame - the covers would have looked pretty on my bookshelf.
November 1, 2021
I was expecting the usual alien smut with a non existent plot but Ms. Stephens managed to surprise me. I never expected to enjoy this one as much as I did.
Being a fellow engineer, I connected to Miari and loved all her "tinkering". I loved that she was smart and had an actual personality than just the usual "She's so beautiful"...so-must-mate excuse. I loveddd the gift she made for Xoran. Also, how cute is Xoran for building her a lab?
I found a few similarities between this and Ruby Dixon's series with the Xanaxana and the Khui etc, but it didn't take away from the experience and was fun to read. That said, some of the alien vernacular was difficult to understand and only after reading the sentence twice did I kind of guess their meaning, so I did skip a few lines here and there.
I really liked Svera and Kris. I might just skip over to their book.
“Miari, you may call me whatever you like to whomever you want so long as you live. Never leave my side again. I have too much of this love for you... I worship you, my universe. My Miari…”
Being a fellow engineer, I connected to Miari and loved all her "tinkering". I loved that she was smart and had an actual personality than just the usual "She's so beautiful"...so-must-mate excuse. I loveddd the gift she made for Xoran. Also, how cute is Xoran for building her a lab?
I found a few similarities between this and Ruby Dixon's series with the Xanaxana and the Khui etc, but it didn't take away from the experience and was fun to read. That said, some of the alien vernacular was difficult to understand and only after reading the sentence twice did I kind of guess their meaning, so I did skip a few lines here and there.
I really liked Svera and Kris. I might just skip over to their book.
“Miari, you may call me whatever you like to whomever you want so long as you live. Never leave my side again. I have too much of this love for you... I worship you, my universe. My Miari…”
August 17, 2020
I grabbed this book when it was recommended by a friend. So glad I did!
I absolutely devoured this story. Packed with action, wit, chemistry and a surprising amount of emotion. It’s a fantastically intricate storyline with Beau world building. I was so sad when it ended and can’t wait for more from this author.
I absolutely devoured this story. Packed with action, wit, chemistry and a surprising amount of emotion. It’s a fantastically intricate storyline with Beau world building. I was so sad when it ended and can’t wait for more from this author.
July 23, 2023
This sci-fi/alien romance was the perfect break from my regular contemporary reads! Miari is a half human whose world is turned upside down when the Voraxia king turns out to be her mate. Give Miari’s history with Voraxians, trust has to be built between the two of them and their people.
I enjoyed watching the two of them learn each other’s culture and language. The sneak peek at future couples was fun, and I can’t wait to see where the underlying storyline takes us!
SN - the breeding kink was right up my alley lmao
I enjoyed watching the two of them learn each other’s culture and language. The sneak peek at future couples was fun, and I can’t wait to see where the underlying storyline takes us!
SN - the breeding kink was right up my alley lmao
September 2, 2023
Well now I gotta keep going with this series because man, did it grow on me! It took me a minute to get used to the language, but once I got going—holy hotness!
I’m a sucker for breeding kink. I blame Ruby Dixon. Elizabeth Stephens has a good thing going and I’m happy to be on this train!!
I’m a sucker for breeding kink. I blame Ruby Dixon. Elizabeth Stephens has a good thing going and I’m happy to be on this train!!
November 17, 2023
This is definitely a new favorite Alien romance. So unique. A little bit dark and a dash of sweetness.
I am hooked.
5 stars
3 on the spice scale
CW: rape and attempted assault, trauma and dark themes.
I am hooked.
5 stars
3 on the spice scale
CW: rape and attempted assault, trauma and dark themes.
October 30, 2023
4.5 Woah… woah woah this was so hot. ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
✨✨I loved how the author portrays the characters thoughts and interpretations as they interact and experience each others alien race. ✨✨
✨✨She stays true to the foreign nature of each race ✨✨
For Example:
“I lace my legs with hers and hold one of her chest mounds in my palm.”
Doesn’t call them what a human would; tits, boobs or breast because he doesn’t know what they are… he just knows she/he likes it. They are mounds to him.
They both just except each other’s physical and cultural differences. It’s so hot and romantic at the same time.
I love it when author stays true to the character in nature, and not bring in current pop culture elements and slang into a story that’s so unrelated.
I love the way this author writes. It reminds me of Transcendence by Shay Savage.
OK I said “I love” like a lot, a lot .. and I’m only 30% into the book and I already know it’s gonna be a top read
Even if aliens are not your thing… this is worth stepping out of your lane.
The audio narration is like mind blowing..
HOT AF 💥💥💥🤤💥💥💥
✨✨I loved how the author portrays the characters thoughts and interpretations as they interact and experience each others alien race. ✨✨
✨✨She stays true to the foreign nature of each race ✨✨
For Example:
“I lace my legs with hers and hold one of her chest mounds in my palm.”
Doesn’t call them what a human would; tits, boobs or breast because he doesn’t know what they are… he just knows she/he likes it. They are mounds to him.
They both just except each other’s physical and cultural differences. It’s so hot and romantic at the same time.
I love it when author stays true to the character in nature, and not bring in current pop culture elements and slang into a story that’s so unrelated.
I love the way this author writes. It reminds me of Transcendence by Shay Savage.
OK I said “I love” like a lot, a lot .. and I’m only 30% into the book and I already know it’s gonna be a top read
Even if aliens are not your thing… this is worth stepping out of your lane.
The audio narration is like mind blowing..
HOT AF 💥💥💥🤤💥💥💥
March 27, 2020
I received a copy of Taken to Voraxia in exchange for my honest review.
Taken to Voraxia tells the love story of Miari: a woman (half breed to be precise), and her alien mate, Xoran. The story is voiced by Miari and Xoran.
The good:
Miari is a smart girl, a loyal friend and a unique character, as she is the only half breed who survived birth. There is no nonsense with her, she speaks her truth and fights for what is right. It felt just good to root for her.
The better
It seems pretty straightforward at first:they love each other... the end? Of course, it's not so simple. From evil twists to likeable friends, this was a page turner.
The best:
Elizabeth Stephens did it again !
I loved "Population" and I was ready for another action packed sci fi romance with great world building and fun misunderstandings. I found it in this book, same author, different story, but same soul ;).
Taken to Voraxia tells the love story of Miari: a woman (half breed to be precise), and her alien mate, Xoran. The story is voiced by Miari and Xoran.
The good:
Miari is a smart girl, a loyal friend and a unique character, as she is the only half breed who survived birth. There is no nonsense with her, she speaks her truth and fights for what is right. It felt just good to root for her.
The better
It seems pretty straightforward at first:they love each other... the end? Of course, it's not so simple. From evil twists to likeable friends, this was a page turner.
The best:
Elizabeth Stephens did it again !
I loved "Population" and I was ready for another action packed sci fi romance with great world building and fun misunderstandings. I found it in this book, same author, different story, but same soul ;).
September 1, 2020
Very interesting science fiction romance
Essentially the story is about the meeting of two different cultures – the hybrids and the Voraxians. The hybrids are rare and they are a mix of humans and aliens. Miari fears the Voarxians and her fear is not completely misplaced.
But then Raku, the king of the Varoxians is not like the other people of his species and he finds his mate in Miari. He takes Miari to his own planet in an attempt to explain to her the life of the Voraxians and getting her to accept him.
The description of the story was amazing. The different characters, their activities and the planets were described to an amazing level which was lovely to read about. Raku was definitely a great leader and a lover and I found myself rooting for him.
Over all enjoyed the romance.
Essentially the story is about the meeting of two different cultures – the hybrids and the Voraxians. The hybrids are rare and they are a mix of humans and aliens. Miari fears the Voarxians and her fear is not completely misplaced.
But then Raku, the king of the Varoxians is not like the other people of his species and he finds his mate in Miari. He takes Miari to his own planet in an attempt to explain to her the life of the Voraxians and getting her to accept him.
The description of the story was amazing. The different characters, their activities and the planets were described to an amazing level which was lovely to read about. Raku was definitely a great leader and a lover and I found myself rooting for him.
Over all enjoyed the romance.
April 12, 2021
I was looking for a hot alien romance. That is not what I read.
The hero finds his fated mate but she is too young to have sex with him. So even though she is so skinny her bones are showing (because the leaders of her colony take most of the food) he leaves her there after just telling the leaders she needs to get more food and he'll return in a year for her.
That's it. He never follows up, he never makes sure she gets the extra food, he ignores her for a year. Then he comes back and of course she's still been starved. And she doesn't want to be his so she runs away and hides.
He rescues her but those first interactions set the tone of their relationship. He didn't care enough to check up on her.
The hero finds his fated mate but she is too young to have sex with him. So even though she is so skinny her bones are showing (because the leaders of her colony take most of the food) he leaves her there after just telling the leaders she needs to get more food and he'll return in a year for her.
That's it. He never follows up, he never makes sure she gets the extra food, he ignores her for a year. Then he comes back and of course she's still been starved. And she doesn't want to be his so she runs away and hides.
He rescues her but those first interactions set the tone of their relationship. He didn't care enough to check up on her.
September 8, 2020
This was a very good story that rises above the "Mars needs women" trope. The opening gambit is clever where the hero is unaware of the ugly situation, and quickly works to correct it. Yes, there is biological insta-lust and cultural errors, but they are managed to everyone's benefit. The love story builds slowly, where the lust drive is acknowledged long before the emotional component is developed.
Since this is a series, the seeds of the coming stories are well planted. And this H and h are both strong and principled.
I will read the next one.
Since this is a series, the seeds of the coming stories are well planted. And this H and h are both strong and principled.
I will read the next one.
March 11, 2023
this has too many rape, rape attempts and rape mentions for me to enjoy
September 13, 2025
Giving this a mid rating due to the difficulty navigating the made-up alien language... I had no idea half the time what was being referenced and sometimes I was clued in... so made the experience hard work to get through... that being said, I did like the overall story, characters and world. A nice standard sci-fi alien romance that starts a world with more books following. I'm hoping the books get better as they go along, since I did the book, just some hiccups.
edit: the male narrator for the audio book though...... 🫠
edit: the male narrator for the audio book though...... 🫠
January 9, 2025
I don’t know, this just was not for me. It had been on my TBR for years and I finally jumped in when I saw my library (hoopla) had the audiobook. It was just so repetitive and I didn’t care about the characters or plot. I thought I’d like it more than I did, but I was just bored.
April 23, 2023
I loved this 🥹🥹🥹 and the representation!!!!!!
April 3, 2020
https://onebookmore.com/2020/04/02/ar...
Taken to Voraxia is the first book in the Xiveri Mates series. Miari is a hybrid. Half-human and half-alien, she is only one of two hybrids in her colony. Miari, along with all the other humans, fears the Voraxians and their brutal ways, as they should.
So when Raku, the leader of the Voraxians, claims that Miari is his Xiveri mate, she is horrified. She pictures a life of slavery, violation, and abuse. Miari knows nothing of Raku or Voraxia save for the terrible actions forced upon them by Raku’s sadistic general. But she is drawn to Raku. Her body and soul come alive when he is near and feel a sense of loss when he is gone.
Raku knows from the moment he enters Miari’s small colony that she is his Xiveri mate, and he is overcome. He never imagined he would find his soul mate and determines to do whatever it takes to prove to Miari that she is destined to be his queen. Raku takes Miari to his home planet in the hopes that he can win her distrusting heart. Miari, unsure of Raku’s intentions, slowly starts to see the protective, caring, and supportive male under the rough and tough exterior. Can Miari get past her prejudices against Raku’s people and learn to embrace this new world and new love? Will Raku ever gain her trust? What will happen to this couple when outside forces threaten their very lives?
I am always fascinated by the incredible amount of imagination and skill that must go into developing new worlds in sci-fi literature. Elizabeth Stephens didn’t just make a new world – She made a whole, magnificent universe.
The story takes place on two different planets (well, one planet and one moon), and everything is described in beautifully vivid detail. When in Miari’s colony, you can feel the heat and the dry sand. When arriving on Raku’s planet, you feel the majestic enormity of the trees and the beauty of the water sources. When traveling by glider, you can sense the wind in Miari’s hair. I love Stephens’ ability to create an original, immersive, and vivid world complete with customs, religions, varied modes of transportation, animals, food, clothes, and more.
Another strength of the novel is the excellent character development. Raku is my favorite. Though he has many attributes of a typical alpha male, there is so much more substance to him. He is honorable, sharp, and has integrity. Additionally, I love how he talks about Miari. Though his inner dialogue often contradicts his actions and words, this adds to his character. He is not used to expressing himself, nor is he used to the feelings that Miari elicits, and he is struggling to find an emotional balance throughout the story.
In addition, Raku is the king. He has tremendous responsibility as well as people who are working against him. This proves to be a major conflict in the story and, as his love for Miari grows, she becomes a target. Raku is fiercely protective of his mate and will do anything to keep her safe, which he proves again and again. This conflict not only serves to progress the plot, but it also adds depth to Raku and Miari’s relationship.
Miari, in turn, has to learn how to lead. She goes from being cast aside to being a queen. This is a tremendous change, and though Miari stumbles a bit, she ultimately relies on her own instincts as well as the support and knowledge of others to be the best partner and queen to Raku.
Miari is as richly developed as Raku, as are the minor characters. Miari, a strong, stubborn, and fiercely loyal female, has a strong friendship with two females from her colony. I loved these women and their strong connection. They are all willing to go to extreme lengths to protect the ones they love. Hopefully, they will be at the center of future books in this series.
I, of course, have to mention the romance. Steamy and sexually charged from the moment they meet, Raku and Miari’s story is a page-turner. I love how they make each other feel, the deep bond that they share, and their understandably confused and conflicted feelings for one another. They have amazing chemistry that makes the reader root for the unlikely duo.
As the story is told from both Raku and Miari’s perspectives, the reader has a deeper understanding of the thoughts and feelings of each protagonist. I appreciate this type of narrative, as I feel that I understand their motivations and rationales better.
Though this is a sci-fi romance, the story is much deeper than that. It explores topics like equality, the treatment of women, xenophobia, facing prejudices and one’s demons, invoking change, and protecting the vulnerable. I love when books delve into universal and relevant themes that add poignancy and depth to the stories.
This is a well-written, well-paced story that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. With unbelievably vivid world-building, richly developed characters, and themes of female empowerment, this is everything I love in a romance novel. Filled with action, unusual creatures and planets, spicy romance, and relatable characters, this is a book that romance readers will love!
Taken to Voraxia is the first book in the Xiveri Mates series. Miari is a hybrid. Half-human and half-alien, she is only one of two hybrids in her colony. Miari, along with all the other humans, fears the Voraxians and their brutal ways, as they should.
So when Raku, the leader of the Voraxians, claims that Miari is his Xiveri mate, she is horrified. She pictures a life of slavery, violation, and abuse. Miari knows nothing of Raku or Voraxia save for the terrible actions forced upon them by Raku’s sadistic general. But she is drawn to Raku. Her body and soul come alive when he is near and feel a sense of loss when he is gone.
Raku knows from the moment he enters Miari’s small colony that she is his Xiveri mate, and he is overcome. He never imagined he would find his soul mate and determines to do whatever it takes to prove to Miari that she is destined to be his queen. Raku takes Miari to his home planet in the hopes that he can win her distrusting heart. Miari, unsure of Raku’s intentions, slowly starts to see the protective, caring, and supportive male under the rough and tough exterior. Can Miari get past her prejudices against Raku’s people and learn to embrace this new world and new love? Will Raku ever gain her trust? What will happen to this couple when outside forces threaten their very lives?
I am always fascinated by the incredible amount of imagination and skill that must go into developing new worlds in sci-fi literature. Elizabeth Stephens didn’t just make a new world – She made a whole, magnificent universe.
The story takes place on two different planets (well, one planet and one moon), and everything is described in beautifully vivid detail. When in Miari’s colony, you can feel the heat and the dry sand. When arriving on Raku’s planet, you feel the majestic enormity of the trees and the beauty of the water sources. When traveling by glider, you can sense the wind in Miari’s hair. I love Stephens’ ability to create an original, immersive, and vivid world complete with customs, religions, varied modes of transportation, animals, food, clothes, and more.
Another strength of the novel is the excellent character development. Raku is my favorite. Though he has many attributes of a typical alpha male, there is so much more substance to him. He is honorable, sharp, and has integrity. Additionally, I love how he talks about Miari. Though his inner dialogue often contradicts his actions and words, this adds to his character. He is not used to expressing himself, nor is he used to the feelings that Miari elicits, and he is struggling to find an emotional balance throughout the story.
In addition, Raku is the king. He has tremendous responsibility as well as people who are working against him. This proves to be a major conflict in the story and, as his love for Miari grows, she becomes a target. Raku is fiercely protective of his mate and will do anything to keep her safe, which he proves again and again. This conflict not only serves to progress the plot, but it also adds depth to Raku and Miari’s relationship.
Miari, in turn, has to learn how to lead. She goes from being cast aside to being a queen. This is a tremendous change, and though Miari stumbles a bit, she ultimately relies on her own instincts as well as the support and knowledge of others to be the best partner and queen to Raku.
Miari is as richly developed as Raku, as are the minor characters. Miari, a strong, stubborn, and fiercely loyal female, has a strong friendship with two females from her colony. I loved these women and their strong connection. They are all willing to go to extreme lengths to protect the ones they love. Hopefully, they will be at the center of future books in this series.
I, of course, have to mention the romance. Steamy and sexually charged from the moment they meet, Raku and Miari’s story is a page-turner. I love how they make each other feel, the deep bond that they share, and their understandably confused and conflicted feelings for one another. They have amazing chemistry that makes the reader root for the unlikely duo.
As the story is told from both Raku and Miari’s perspectives, the reader has a deeper understanding of the thoughts and feelings of each protagonist. I appreciate this type of narrative, as I feel that I understand their motivations and rationales better.
Though this is a sci-fi romance, the story is much deeper than that. It explores topics like equality, the treatment of women, xenophobia, facing prejudices and one’s demons, invoking change, and protecting the vulnerable. I love when books delve into universal and relevant themes that add poignancy and depth to the stories.
This is a well-written, well-paced story that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. With unbelievably vivid world-building, richly developed characters, and themes of female empowerment, this is everything I love in a romance novel. Filled with action, unusual creatures and planets, spicy romance, and relatable characters, this is a book that romance readers will love!
September 2, 2021
CW: sexual assault, rape, etc. in the book and discussed here. Also, spoilers.
My pet peeve with so many of these alien romances is the whole trope of "we need fertile women, so we're going to brutalize yours, even if it doesn't result in as many babies as we want to continue our people!" The main character is the product of rape. Her mother died giving birth to her. Only one other known living hybrid like her, because most of the women in the early days died giving birth and so did their children - so later women had abortions so they wouldn't die horribly (yet so many of the women seem to be almost of a slave class and have no other health care?). The whole hybrid thing was the result of a "hunt" aka "rape," that was supposedly part of a deal between a stranded human colony's leaders (sparing the leaders' families, of course) on a dangerous alien world and another alien people who were all too happy to take advantage of the situation in exchange for "protection." The main male character for this book (and the set up for at least two other books) are part of another group of aliens, possibly a different species? Possibly just from another world? Who are supposed to be leaders of this planet system and over other planets, but somehow didn't know about the years of rape, torture, abuse, death (from dying from childbirth, dying during the "hunt," dying from suicide after being repeatedly raped in an incredibly violent and degrading fashion), etc. There's so much horrible going on here.
There is this overly complicated system of alien worlds and their leaders - everyone apparently goes by a title because their given name aka "born name" aka "slave name" is not to be used because it is a dishonor. It's really confusing to constantly have to remember who is who in certain areas of the book because all you know is the title and very little characterization. The appearances seem to change (skin color for certain characters was originally blue, then turns red at one point, then back to blue, and later to gray, for example). The behavior changes - we have a very brutal warrior main character who at times seems rational and kind, then turns around and becomes brutal again. He seems to think that he's treating someone well and yet she has no choice in so much of what happens to her or around her. She has no power. He doesn't understand that she knows absolutely nothing of who he is, of his people, except what she's been shown by the alien group who were terrorizing and brutalizing her people since before she was born. She was basically kept impoverished and almost enslaved by her own people's leaders as well as this other group, and I have a feeling that beyond struggling to feed herself and survive, as an orphan, she also didn't have any healthcare at all (confirmed) and probably had little to no education beyond what she could teach herself. She knows that she must make deals to survive. She considers herself the main male character's slave and prostitutes herself to save her people - which hurts his feelings (whoopedy do, you kidnapped her and called her friends who are the only family she has traitors for trying to defend her from you). Beyond the crazy stuff going on, we also have times when we have modern day real life stuff intrude - somehow this girl who lives on an alien planet and has very little access to technology and other people outside of her village talks like a modern day American teenager at times. I also have issue with the way time is dealt with - rotations = a version of a year (it should be revolutions, if we're talking revolutions around a star or star system - rotations should be day/night cycles), lunars seem to be nights, solars days, etc. The way this becomes even more a problem is that the main character is only like 7 rotations old. She's supposedly fully grown at 7 rotations, so how many human earth years is that? Is that like 18? Because that's when the whole rape-hunt crap is supposed to start, and the main male character found her before this and wasn't really wanting to wait for her to get older. There's something waaay late in the book that considers menstrual cycles and when I did the math, it made the main female character between 16 and 19. Still too young.
So I originally was going to give this book 3 stars because I enjoyed reading about the main character growing into a leader who looks after her people and learning that she can have power (although it's only because of who her fated mate guy is, so does it even count?), but I don't think that outweighs so much of the bad. The bad tend to be things that truly hit my buttons. The friendships between the three main female characters (two of which are mostly absent throughout the book as "traitors" and as they're probably getting their own books) and the positive representation of less traditional characters just aren't enough. Had to drop a star after getting angry all over again.
My pet peeve with so many of these alien romances is the whole trope of "we need fertile women, so we're going to brutalize yours, even if it doesn't result in as many babies as we want to continue our people!" The main character is the product of rape. Her mother died giving birth to her. Only one other known living hybrid like her, because most of the women in the early days died giving birth and so did their children - so later women had abortions so they wouldn't die horribly (yet so many of the women seem to be almost of a slave class and have no other health care?). The whole hybrid thing was the result of a "hunt" aka "rape," that was supposedly part of a deal between a stranded human colony's leaders (sparing the leaders' families, of course) on a dangerous alien world and another alien people who were all too happy to take advantage of the situation in exchange for "protection." The main male character for this book (and the set up for at least two other books) are part of another group of aliens, possibly a different species? Possibly just from another world? Who are supposed to be leaders of this planet system and over other planets, but somehow didn't know about the years of rape, torture, abuse, death (from dying from childbirth, dying during the "hunt," dying from suicide after being repeatedly raped in an incredibly violent and degrading fashion), etc. There's so much horrible going on here.
There is this overly complicated system of alien worlds and their leaders - everyone apparently goes by a title because their given name aka "born name" aka "slave name" is not to be used because it is a dishonor. It's really confusing to constantly have to remember who is who in certain areas of the book because all you know is the title and very little characterization. The appearances seem to change (skin color for certain characters was originally blue, then turns red at one point, then back to blue, and later to gray, for example). The behavior changes - we have a very brutal warrior main character who at times seems rational and kind, then turns around and becomes brutal again. He seems to think that he's treating someone well and yet she has no choice in so much of what happens to her or around her. She has no power. He doesn't understand that she knows absolutely nothing of who he is, of his people, except what she's been shown by the alien group who were terrorizing and brutalizing her people since before she was born. She was basically kept impoverished and almost enslaved by her own people's leaders as well as this other group, and I have a feeling that beyond struggling to feed herself and survive, as an orphan, she also didn't have any healthcare at all (confirmed) and probably had little to no education beyond what she could teach herself. She knows that she must make deals to survive. She considers herself the main male character's slave and prostitutes herself to save her people - which hurts his feelings (whoopedy do, you kidnapped her and called her friends who are the only family she has traitors for trying to defend her from you). Beyond the crazy stuff going on, we also have times when we have modern day real life stuff intrude - somehow this girl who lives on an alien planet and has very little access to technology and other people outside of her village talks like a modern day American teenager at times. I also have issue with the way time is dealt with - rotations = a version of a year (it should be revolutions, if we're talking revolutions around a star or star system - rotations should be day/night cycles), lunars seem to be nights, solars days, etc. The way this becomes even more a problem is that the main character is only like 7 rotations old. She's supposedly fully grown at 7 rotations, so how many human earth years is that? Is that like 18? Because that's when the whole rape-hunt crap is supposed to start, and the main male character found her before this and wasn't really wanting to wait for her to get older. There's something waaay late in the book that considers menstrual cycles and when I did the math, it made the main female character between 16 and 19. Still too young.
So I originally was going to give this book 3 stars because I enjoyed reading about the main character growing into a leader who looks after her people and learning that she can have power (although it's only because of who her fated mate guy is, so does it even count?), but I don't think that outweighs so much of the bad. The bad tend to be things that truly hit my buttons. The friendships between the three main female characters (two of which are mostly absent throughout the book as "traitors" and as they're probably getting their own books) and the positive representation of less traditional characters just aren't enough. Had to drop a star after getting angry all over again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
dnf
January 3, 2022Thanks, I hate it. dnf 54%
I tried to power through so I could give it a one star rating, but it's so bad that I had to relent and add it to my dnf pile. I really don't understand why there are so many high ratings. There's no content or world building. Adding in a bunch of clicky sounding alien words does not constitute a story. It's just an endless loop of past rape or present rape.
The made up alien language is distracting and makes the pacing choppy. Swapping out "yes" and "no" and other random words is pointless.
They go in circles about the betrayal of the human moon colony. I get it, there was no consent, but let's keep talking about again it two hundred more times.
The couple goes in circles about their xiveri mating attraction and the dubious consent. Everything is dragged out because they only communicate a droplet of what needs to be said before someone leaves the room and then the cycle of dubious smut happens again.
I tried to power through so I could give it a one star rating, but it's so bad that I had to relent and add it to my dnf pile. I really don't understand why there are so many high ratings. There's no content or world building. Adding in a bunch of clicky sounding alien words does not constitute a story. It's just an endless loop of past rape or present rape.
The made up alien language is distracting and makes the pacing choppy. Swapping out "yes" and "no" and other random words is pointless.
They go in circles about the betrayal of the human moon colony. I get it, there was no consent, but let's keep talking about again it two hundred more times.
The couple goes in circles about their xiveri mating attraction and the dubious consent. Everything is dragged out because they only communicate a droplet of what needs to be said before someone leaves the room and then the cycle of dubious smut happens again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2023
DNF @ 71%. I already know the hijabi character will be "liberated" from her hijab the minute she gets dicked down by that manslut alien
This review is about a side character who later has her own book (book 4).
Listen. I love the idea of hijabis in space. But she's also practicing a religion that combines the Old Testament, New Testament, and the Qur'an. Obviously this author is a Non-Muslim because you didn't have to reinvent the wheel for that 🥴🥴 anyway I know a halal alien romance is literally an impossible ask for an alien smut series, but based on the reviews of book 4? LOL that ain't right
Also comments made about her appearance? Her long dress and head scarf? How grateful the male lead in this book is that his own mate doesn't restrict herself in these outfits? Nah bro👎👎 it's a no from meee
This review is about a side character who later has her own book (book 4).
Listen. I love the idea of hijabis in space. But she's also practicing a religion that combines the Old Testament, New Testament, and the Qur'an. Obviously this author is a Non-Muslim because you didn't have to reinvent the wheel for that 🥴🥴 anyway I know a halal alien romance is literally an impossible ask for an alien smut series, but based on the reviews of book 4? LOL that ain't right
Also comments made about her appearance? Her long dress and head scarf? How grateful the male lead in this book is that his own mate doesn't restrict herself in these outfits? Nah bro👎👎 it's a no from meee
December 13, 2021
TW: attempted SA, dub-con, conversations of abortion
Actual 3.5
This was everything I could want in a sci-fi romance. There was a glossary provided at the beginning but I did find myself just making up my own pronunciations after I got tired of flipping back and forth.
The main hangup I have is after Miari was claimed as his mate but was still a year too young, Xoran agreed to come back a year later to take her back to his planet. Prior to him leaving, he told the council that she was to be fed and homed way better than she had been up until that point.
So why didn’t he check on her? Through the rest of the book we can see his obsession with her, but why during the time they were separated did he not check in to ensure she was being cared for? Idk that bugged the crap out of me.
Actual 3.5
This was everything I could want in a sci-fi romance. There was a glossary provided at the beginning but I did find myself just making up my own pronunciations after I got tired of flipping back and forth.
The main hangup I have is after Miari was claimed as his mate but was still a year too young, Xoran agreed to come back a year later to take her back to his planet. Prior to him leaving, he told the council that she was to be fed and homed way better than she had been up until that point.
So why didn’t he check on her? Through the rest of the book we can see his obsession with her, but why during the time they were separated did he not check in to ensure she was being cared for? Idk that bugged the crap out of me.
June 19, 2025
3/5 ⭐️s
An interesting premise, and I’m excited to read more in the series!
I liked Xoran and Miari’s dynamic as they worked to understand each other’s cultures while also managing their pull to each other as mates. It did get a little boring at times, but I think a lot of that is due to the world-building a lot of fantasy series have to include in their first books. It’ll be interesting to see how the other stories progress now that we have a general idea of this universe.
Svera and Krisxox were the most interesting part of this book, and I’m excited to read their story later in the series!
Spice: 2.5/5 🌶️s
An interesting premise, and I’m excited to read more in the series!
I liked Xoran and Miari’s dynamic as they worked to understand each other’s cultures while also managing their pull to each other as mates. It did get a little boring at times, but I think a lot of that is due to the world-building a lot of fantasy series have to include in their first books. It’ll be interesting to see how the other stories progress now that we have a general idea of this universe.
Svera and Krisxox were the most interesting part of this book, and I’m excited to read their story later in the series!
Spice: 2.5/5 🌶️s
Displaying 1 - 30 of 710 reviews