Claimed by the Demon Alien

by Ella Maven

I live on pain… but for her, I only want to cause pleasure.

Penelope: One minute I’m conducting important research on a distant planet, and the next, I’ve fallen through a crack in the surface and am transported to an underground world with terrifying fanged creatures who want to eat me, an army of feathered warriors who rescue me, and a massive horned demon leader who gains power through pain… except he’s only giving me pleasure.

He wants to keep me, and I have to admit, I don’t hate the flaming underworld anymore. But I can’t stay—my air filter will only last so long down here, and as for my demon? He can’t survive on the surface. We are from two different worlds that never should have collided… what kind of future is there for a hot, alien demon and a human woman?

Claimed by the Demon Alien is a standalone Sci-Fi Romance featuring a horned alien who used to torture his enemies and now spends his time picking flowers for his botanist human girlfriend.

Genres: Romance, Aliens, Audiobook, Science Fiction Romance, Science Fiction, Demons, Slow Burn

153 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 4, 2022

Reviews

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

⚠️This review does contain some little spoilers here and there.⚠️
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️













⭐⭐⭐
3 stars.









➕ What I liked :



Interesting and rather unique setting for the plot.
(Underground world on a alien planet.)


A heroine that is 40.👍👏
(This is rather uncommon in the sci-fi romance genre where the vast majority of heroines are in their 20’s and a few are in their early 30’s, but older than 35 or 40 is very uncommon to come across in the sci-fi romance genre…. And I wish that there were more of them.)

A heroine that is 40 and is not divorced or been cheated on or any of those tired tropes that very often are used when the heroine happens to be 35+ or 45+, but this heroine only had casual, short-term encounters and was very focused on her education and job before meeting the hero.

Rather good voice actors/narrators.

Some little parts here and there of the plot was kind of interesting/had potential and some of the world-building was also kind of interesting/had potential but some things took away from it which I mention later on….)


The heroine is Not a slave or ex-slave or sex-slave etc. and she was not abducted from earth.
(She is a botanist and researcher doing research on a distant planet.🙌🦄🔍)







➖ What I disliked:





What the hero did to the heroines hands just because he felt like it and could do it etc. …. And the focus and weirdness with how the heroine rather quickly gets turned on by a aggressive/violent and domineering and more or less condescending and dismissive “hero” and also her thoughts on how manly he is compared to the meek men on earth or at least the ones she knew or dated or worked with.
🙄😞🥴😩

This is supposed to be a sci-fi romance or alien romance but there are things in the plot and about the characters and other things that make the plot/book a confusing mishmash of genres… there are aliens then there are demons and there is magic and time travel/time slips etc. .… and it leans into the beauty and the beast/Hades and Persephone theme/vibe a little too much for a sci-fi romance…. And even for being a sci-fi romance many things are just a little too nonsensical and just don’t make sense with how the physics of this world works and same with some of the creatures living there… and many names for both things and individuals etc. just seemed like a rather overt but also plain adulteration of the English language and English names… and also made things a little jumbled among many other things.


There are plot-holes and inconsistencies. Etc.
(The heroine has a badly injured ankle but it is mentioned a little bit then it is all good and she uses it like nothing happened or/and it is never mentioned again really… And the heroines oxygen gear/breathing gear really does not make sense she just has it on/around her nose more or less like a nasal cannula or something like it but nothing to protect her mouth from breathing in the toxic and hypoxic atmosphere of the planet.)


The size and height difference is extreme even for this genre and it is really emphasized how extremely big and hulking and tall the hero is compared to the heroine and it is just so extreme that it makes it ridiculous and also makes it hard for at least this reader/listener to picture the hero being compatible with the heroine when it comes to their extreme size and height difference…. It is also a very overused and formulaic trope/theme.



The ending is also a little too easily/quickly resolved even for this genre and there is too much hand-waving and genre convenience for things to make sense even for a sci-fi romance….. and it also has the overused and tired trope that there must be a pregnancy somewhere in the book/plot or by the end or/and the epilogue like it is a necessity or a imperative/compulsory thing to have for a happy relationship or happily ever after😒…. In other words the Outdated "Pregnancy Epilogue" Trope and even that trope hand-waves away many things like the heroines age (40) and it completely bypasses the real-world medical realities of a 40-year-old human conceiving... There is no mention of advanced human reproductive technology, gene-editing, or fertility treatments being used to help the heroine get pregnant… and no use of sci-fi technology to “fix”/help her fertility, the book relies entirely on the fantasy trope of alien biology... Haste's species is written to have super-compatible, aggressive reproductive traits that override human biological clocks and genetic boundaries...The heroines body simply adapts to his because they are "mates” so a big hand-wave to many things there and with that… and it is just so boring and overused when the Outdated "Pregnancy Epilogue" Trope or anything like that is used not to mention problematic.
Why could the heroine not just lived happily ever after with the hero and without offspring/children?
Or/and that the heroine is thriving strictly as a groundbreaking planetary botanist or the couple co-ruling without children...the book/plot takes the easy and overused way out.
And it also treats pregnancy as the ultimate shorthand for a successful relationship, even when it actively contradicts the established biological rules of the world.🤦


The romantic build-up/romance and tension and chemistry is rather lackluster and so are the sex scenes/spice.


The heroine also made a little too many stupid decisions because she was so curious in nature especially for a heroine that is also supposed to be clever and highly educated and a adult woman in her 40's.

[~*~Princess Nya Vasiliev~*~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has got to be the weirdest story I've read by my fave sci-fi author, to date, but it was oddly fascinating. Even a little sweet. It's fantasy, so take it with a grain of salt. Especially the ending/solution to Haste and Penelope's predicament. It's clear the Greek myth, Hades and Persephone, which has been done so many times already was a source of inspiration here.

I also loved the humis creatures. Covi and Coly were too adorable. And so were the Rakens. Honorable beings and loyal indeed to Haste.

This one is a standalone read. Though I saw a few reviewers voicing their hopes that it be turned into a series. I honestly don't think that would be a good idea. Some stories and settings are better left told once and this is one of those stories. Expanding it into a series would just kill the magic here. Which was already a stretch.

This was a good read for escapism. Told through the eyes of Pen and Haste. There's no need for this to become a series.

[Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alien underground!



The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💜💚
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘
World building: 🌏🌍🌎
Character development: 🤓😋😀😘
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration

The heroine: Penelope - she is human and has a PhD in biology and is very proud to have been hired to go to a planet called S4 to study plant life. She loves her job and has worked very hard to get to this point in her life. While out on the planet one day, she and her team are ready to head back for the night, and one of them notices some odd readings on the ground radar. Penelope decides to take a look and goes out to check on the anomaly. She is tied to a rope which the others are holding so they can pull her in if she gets in trouble. However, something goes wrong, the ground opens up beneath her and the rope breaks.

The Heroes: Haste - a Demonica that was cursed and exiled. He is ruler of the under and master of the flames. He leads a group of Raven-like warriors. He is the master of his territory and others don’t usually encroach on his territory with out fear of vicious retaliation. They live deep underground and are technologically advanced enough to know what humans are and to have translators for the various species, races and alien life forms in the under.

The Story: Penelope falls and falls far beneath the surface as the hole from which she fell, closes up behind her. She is attacked by the Eaters, a large spider-like creature with a humanoid head, when Haste and his warriors appear and rescue her. Haste surprises even himself when he not only rescues Pen, but treats her nicely and doesn’t even eat her, despite the fact that she was trespassing in his territory.

The setup is really intriguing! If you haven’t guessed yet by the names Haste and Penelope and the underground setting, this is a bit of a Hades and Persephone reimagining. The Hades and Persephone inspiration shines through, but the sci-fi twist with the Demonica, raven warriors, translators, and strange alien creatures gives it a fresh edge.

I will have to admit the world of this alien planet was much different than in most alien romance I have read. There were a lot of really strange creatures and species, different foods and more, so the world building had potential, it introduced a lot of unusual species and environments. But the descriptions weren't vivid enough to paint a clear picture, which definitely made it harder to fully immerse in the setting. The two main characters were a bit stiff as well, so the chemistry between them wasn’t as explosive as I would have liked.

This audiobook was narrated from multiple perspectives, done in dual narration by Mia Madison and John Masterson. Mia has a good voice, it is a bit deeper than a lot of female narrators, so her voice for male characters wasn’t as bad as some, though she is a bit monotone at times and speaks slower than I like. John Masterson has a nice deep voice which I enjoy, and he does a great job with alien romance.

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[Ana M. Román · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bonita historia con reminiscencias a la Bella y la Bestia. Tiene también ciertos toques fantásticos por lo que ese parecido se acentúa aún más.
Por otro lado, no tiene grandes complicaciones y el final me ha dejado un poco a deber porque sólo traslada para más adelante una decisión que Penelope tendrá que tomar sí o sí.

[BeeKay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I would have expected with a demon that survives on pain

*****
Rating: 3 stars
Steam: 2 flames
Genre: Alien Romance / Slow Burn
*****
Not going to lie, this story gave me some serious Beauty and the Beast vibes. I know this isn't a fairy tale retelling but I couldn't help equate much of the story to that famous fairy tale.

This book wasn't exactly what I was expecting from Ella Maven. I have enjoyed ALL of her Alien romances to date, but this one seemed to be missing something for me. I really didn’t connect to the characters like I normally do and this was definitly slow burn.

I wished the ending hadn’t been as rushed… I would have preferred to be involved in the epic battle vice just coming back after it and the ending was not what I would consider a HEA as only one character got everything they wanted.

For me this book was unfortunately, just ok.

[Corda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was ok

[sweetsugc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, not bad 😂

[Kay H · Rating 2 out of 5]

You get exactly what you expect with this one. Including broken ankles that are never spoken of again (editors and beta readers missed that one apparently), world physics and creatures that make zero sense, and ... time slips? If you're looking for a lighthearted sci-fi romance, there are probably better places to spend your time, but if you're a big Ella Maven fan then read on.

[Poppy || Monster Lover]

I wanted to like Haste and the book but I just couldn’t move past her broken ankle suddenly disappearing from the plot. DNF 40%

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it… Until the end 😕 Wish there was more of a HEA.

[DemetraP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite Ella Maven book (try her Anna and the Alien series instead).

Hero is a cursed "demonica" who was exiled by his king. Some of his warriors were exiled with him.

SPOIELR SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

At the end of the book, he is still stuck underground. So are his men. But she uses the time difference (an hour above the surface is a few weeks underground) to visit the hero and still do her studies for Earth on the surface. She has to wear a breathing mask or she'll die. She plans to stay on the planet forever and study it and stay with the hero. He is immortal she is not.

I just felt like they didn't get their happy ever after.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars

[Paranormal Kiss · Rating 2 out of 5]

Throw logic out of the window with this one because it's seriously lacking. The heroine, who is human, is on a foreign planet researching plant life. The atmosphere is incompatible with humans and she wears a breathing apparatus that only covers her nose. Her mouth is completely unencumbered and free to suck in all that incompatible air.

The hero is an alien being described as being very large, about eight feet tall with hands that could palm her head twice over. I had a hard time picturing him as being physically compatible with the heroine.

This story is very different/bizzare. I can't say I liked it. Then there is the ending that feels completely unresolved. It's a sorta hfn ending that was wholy unsatisfying.

[Kayleigh · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was so incredibly weird that I'm not even sure how or why I picked it but I did and so here we are. Penelope is a researcher on another planet when all of a sudden she's in an underground world with a demon who wants to keep her? There's just one problem, the air filter she's wearing won't last forever and so she must decide what to do...which in my mind seems pretty obvious.

I think this solidified that extra terrestrial things are just not my cup of tea.

[أجمل زهرة · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book.
I loved everything about it the main characters and the secondary ones. It's new and different from the other connected series.
The end disappointed me because I wanted the curse to disappear but I was surprised to know that they will be like this forever.
I thought it was a new version from "beauty and the beast " .

[Kathryn]

$5 for 153 pages. On KU.

[Preston and Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in first person by Ella Maven, CLAIMED BY THE DEMON ALIEN is an alien romance novel that follows Penelope Botham and Haste. The story switches back and forth between their two perspectives.

Penelope was a 40-year-old botanist that was studying a dry hot planet for plant life when she fell through a crevice and into the cursed kingdom of the Under.

Haste was an immortal devil, cursed to live below the planet's surface for all eternity. His power was charged by pain and suffering until Pen entered his territory and his powers became directly tied to her.

This book gave me an Alice in Wonderland vibe, only instead of an evil queen, there was an evil worm. First intercourse took place in chapter 13 at the 68% mark, which gave me Japanese anime porn vibes. With this being a longer than average book, it took too long for the raunch to take place IMHO. Haste developed an unhealthy attachment to Pen, one that threw him into a suicidal depression whenever she left.

I didn't really get the "happily ever after" sensations at the end of this book. In fact, I was left with more questions than answers. Like, what happens when Pen's 5 year research contract comes to an end? Will she return to Earth, sentencing everyone in Under to death? She can't stay, or else she'd die without oxygen filters. Then again, she never even tried to breath down there without them. There was plant life tied to the magic, and therefore, an entire ecosystem, one that most likely provided oxygen. But what happens when she inevitably dies? I found it hard to believe that her fellow research crew of scientists was totally fine with her going back and forth between the surface and the Under. She probably should have brought one down with her at some point to verify her findings. Ugh. Frustrating. Anyway, I digress.

I recommend this read. It's adventure and romance was slightly unbalanced, leaning more towards the cursed plot and less developed in the romance. Still, it was a nice change from the norm. 🫶

[Elisa Mordini · Rating 4 out of 5]

O que gostei:
- Protagonista adulta (40 anos) e par romântico também adulto que, inclusive, teve uma esposa e filhos no passado
- Cenas de hot são muito boas
- Os personagens são coerentes com os próprios objetivos, e mantêm personalidades constantes com o desenrolar da história.
- O pano de fundo da história é bom. Os antagonistas são interessantes, a história pessoal do Haste e da Penelope, etc.

O que não gostei tanto:
- Romance se desenvolve muito rápido. Eles são estranhos um para o outro, aí vem a proposta do Haste, e depois eles começam a se apaixonar.
- O mistério sobre o motivo pelo qual o Haste vive sob a crosta do planeta é explicado, mas não é resolvido. Toda a história do personagem gira em torno desse acontecimento ruim, mas a autora deixa por isso mesmo, o que leva ao próximo ponto;
- Final fraco. Já que a situação do Haste não é resolvida e a da Penelope também não, o romance deles tem uma conclusão nada satisfatória, e meio trágica se você pensar que ele continua imortal e que, apesar dela envelhecer mais devagar com a mudança de mundos, um dia ela vai morrer e isso vai acabar com ele e com toda a vida no Under

No geral, o livro é legal e a química entre os personagens principais é muito boa. O final deixa a desejar, e eu gostaria de um mais um livro neste universo para poder entender melhor o passado de Haste, ou como o futuro dele com a Penelope vai se desenrolar. Considerando que é um livro cujo foco provavelmente é o hot e o romance, eu gostei e achei que a leitura valeu a pena.

[May · Rating 3 out of 5]

This certainly was an interesting read.
Ella Maven wrote this...so of course I adored the writing. That's just agiven with her stuff at this stage.
The characters in this was fun and I liked the premise, felt like it had a lot of promise...but it was let down by the fact I felt like I was cheated out of my HEA. Without going into spoilers, they constantly tell the MC she's special, but then don't really utilise the specialness of her. With their backstory, it would have been a perfect to use her as the cure or the fix. Not only that but we're giving no reasoning for her specialness, is it cause she's human? So is it just any human that can do this or just her?
And we were robbed of the final battle, it all happened while the MC was somewhere else, so it almost felt like it built to nothing. And then to add to that defeating the big bad literally resulted in nothing for the characters, other than not having to defend themselves against daily attacks...but it didn't resolve their overarching issues.
There were so many awesome ideas with this, that if I was writing or brainstorming this, personally would have developed it more and taken it in some other routes.
But overall, good sex, a fun quick read that's well written. With a fun devilsh twist, rather than my usual alien-porn.

[Danielle Loving · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives me anxiety.
I kept watching the pages left decrease but the plot still had too many gaps. I kept wondering how the author was going to fix everything- but it just never happened?
I understand from other reviewers that it was supposed to be a Hades and Persephone retelling and I guess that explains it (their names *are* Haste and Penelope).
I think my disappointment stems from me thinking it was going to end up a beauty and the beast retelling-so I kept waiting for the happily ever after. Boom! True loves kiss and they’d all revert back to their original forms and they could return to the surface and live happily.
But noooo they still don’t have any females, their population will never grow, they are stuck underground and if anyone leaves they’ll die, and every time Penelope goes to the surface they slowly begin dying. And if Penelope spends more than 3 days on the surface they’ll literally starve to death!
How is she able to get any work done knowing that if she even SLEEPS for 8 hours thats like 3-4 months of suffering for everyone else? Their entire existence depends on a woman who is constantly getting herself into life-or-death situations- that’s just not conducive to a happy ending.

I mean, I still liked it though… 3.5/5⭐️

[JML · Rating 4 out of 5]

4&1\2 terrific 🌟s for big red and demony🔥💖🔥💖

I love Ella Maven and her fabulous alien worlds. Haste is a large red demon with a tragic past that is leader of the "under". He suffers from a curse and thrives on others pain that is until he meets Penelope "Pen" a botanist form earth. Pen came here to study the planet and see if it at one time sustained life. While exploring a fissure opened in the ground and sucked her into the Under and thus her adventure began. Danger stalkers her every move and she gets off to a rocky start with Haste but soon finds the strong brave warrior behind the demon. Passion unfolds and love blossoms, but she's human and needs oxygen to breathe and he's an immortal demon. How can they ❤ together? You definitely have to read and find out. This has a strong Hades and Persephone feel to the story and I loved it. That happens to be one of my favorite Greek myths. This was the perfect read on a icy winters night💖💖🔥💖🔥💖💖💖💖💖🔥💖🔥💖💖💖🔥🔥💖🔥💖🔥💖💖🔥💖🔥💖🔥🔥💖💖🔥🔥💖💖🔥🔥💖💖🔥🔥💖🔥💖🔥💖🔥💖🔥💖🔥💖🔥💖🔥💖🔥🔥🔥

[Nessa’s Book Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Claimed by the Demon Alien was a delicious ride, equal parts steamy, thrilling, and unexpectedly sweet.

Penelope’s sudden fall into this underground, dangerous world had me hooked right away. The mix of terrifying creatures and feathered warriors created a vivid, immersive setting that felt both alien and alive.

But the real star here is the horned demon leader. His journey from ruthless pain-bringer to tender lover picking flowers for Penelope was surprisingly tender and made their chemistry crackle with genuine heat and emotion.

Their impossible connection, trapped between two worlds, added layers of tension and longing that kept me invested.

I loved that the story wasn’t just about the passion, it balanced dark, edgy moments with softer, heartfelt ones.

Plus, the standalone format meant a complete, satisfying story with no cliffhangers.

If you’re into enemies-to-lovers with a heavy dose of sensuality and a twist of sci-fi fantasy, this one’s definitely worth diving into.

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding

Ella Maven became one of my favorite authors when I read her first Drixonian romance and nothing has changed. Each series draws me into a world of imaginative wonder with fantastic worlds and characters. In this book we have Penelope a human botanist who falls through a planet’s crust and stumbles on a new world full of different aliens all existing together. She falls in love with Haste, a sort of ruler and together they fight evil aliens and each other. It was a sweet romance with lots of action and steam. I loved it.

[Heather_Readsalot · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story had some serious Beauty and the Beast vibes, but I feel like only half the story was there. The curse that the aliens in the Under have is not resolved and even though there is a compromise on how Haste and Pen can be together that felt unresolved as well. I'm not sure if a second story is planned, or if this was planned to be standalone, but I hope the author revisits it.

This is like a great first book in a series. The world and species were interesting, as was the background story in how everyone came to be in the Under. I just hope one day there is a follow-up to this story.

[Rajini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something New

Ella Maven has yet to disappoint me. She took us to a brand new world, which I'm not going to lie, was a weird feeling for me. The world building, the plot, the characters and chemistry were all there and they delivered.

I did get a little confused because this book is a lot of new material and I wish it had delved deeper into the world, but I guess I have to just hope she writes another book for this series!

[LizKat · Rating 2 out of 5]

I normally love this author's books but this one was just blah for me. It really seemed to drag and the h was supposedly super smart but curse her curiosity because it made her keep making dumb decisions. Hey, even intelligent people can have no common sense but it got to be ridiculous here. Like how did this chick survive to adulthood?
I ended up not finishing this book because I simply couldn't take the TSTL FMC.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claimed by the Demon Alien

This is a fun takeoff on Persephone and Hades in a sci-fi setting. There is a flip to it in that it's the MMC and his world that withers when she's gone. There are a lot of interesting details to compare to the myth but I don't want to give them all away. I got a little hung up on how they were making out while she had an oxygen mask on. But still an enjoyable read.

[Hannah Reads a lot of Smut · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a good hades and Persephone trope, especially when it combines demonic aliens and science 🤌🏼 however this wasn’t my favorite Ella maven book. The pacing was weird at times. Getting myself to finish it took more willpower than I’d like to admit 😅 and I enjoyed the last 30% the most. However, everything is neatly tied together eventually. And I loved the world building that went into the Under, the humis, and the bird folk.

[Kelly Alberti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yeah!

I have to say that if you haven't read Ella Mavens SFR series that you are missing out. Drixonians, Kaluma, both are worth diving into. This was a stand alone, and I enjoyed it, a totally different take on the Hades and Persephone story. Looking forward to her next series starting, wishing it wasn't so far away.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different read from the description....But different is good

Alice in Wonderland meets Beauty and the Beast in this demon alien sci-fi romance. The book was better then the description. It was a really fast read and the beginning went way too fast. But I loved the aspects from other books put together in this demon alien planet.