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Whispers from the Imperial Cage #1
My Human Pet
I was abducted by the alien puppy pound.
Thrown into a cage and sold as a galactic pet.
An alien captain has made me his beloved pet.
Things have happened that I can’t live with.
Things too terrible to mention here…
Thrown into a cage and sold as a galactic pet.
An alien captain has made me his beloved pet.
Things have happened that I can’t live with.
Things too terrible to mention here…
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 12, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 260 reviews
May 26, 2020
Update! If you write verbal attacks to me because of on my personal opinions about any book, (this one has had a number of attacks by this authors fans or friends) I’m going to delete your comment. Period. I do not have any agenda but you bullies apparently do. So be warned, if you are rude on my post I’ll delete your comment and block you from my page. Goodreads is for Honest reviews (opinions) and I Give my honest opinion and look for and follow reviews for that very reason.
Now for my original review..
Too bad we can’t do negative stars
Too bad I can’t get my time back!
If you like degrading scenes for women then this is the book for you.
Let me begin with Ensley, a New Yorker who says some pretty nasty things about the fellow human women captured. The woman from Kentucky she never learns her name and calls her “hillbilly” and she refers to hillbilly and Oklahoma (because that’s where she was from) as druggie trailer park trash. I almost stopped reading. At this point I no longer cared about Ensley and hoped she learns to be a better person, but alas no. Still, she didn’t deserve this...
Ensley is bought as a pet by Seb, a military ship captain. Apparently pets are expensive sex slaves who are treated just like dogs...for instance she learns a word of Sebs language and she receives a treat (chocolate) fed to her like you’d give a dog a treat and she’s dressed up like you’d give a dog a doggie sweater and she’s carried around like a miniature dog. She’s patted on the head, sits on the floor by her masters feet, and has a doggie bed. It’s pretty uncomfortable for me that she never seems bothered by how she’s treated. From first glance, she’s excited about Seb because he’s hot?! What?🤨
Most disturbing is all the fondling (petting of her genitals) paired with degrading sex and even a brutal humiliating gang sex scene. She even refers to it as rape to Seth and he’s still clueless. She is forcibly taken in the anus by Seb and then tells Seb that wasn’t rape? I was confused. Seb sees her crying as a barbaric loss of control and her struggle while being gang raped as her being disobedient. It’s filled with this type of abuse. Seb provides discipline- He carries a whip and hits her on the genitals or repeatedly on her derrière if she doesn’t comply with his demands even though he can’t speak her language nor she his. He automatically assumes that she’s stupid for not picking up his language immediately but he fails to learn even a single word of English ever.
Ensley falls pregnant after the gang rape. Things calm for awhile but then Seb decides for the morale of his men, another gang bang of Ensley is necessary even though Ensley was obviously distraught (crying uncontrollably for days) after the last time. He seems to assume for no apparent reason, that this is an opportunity to show her affection from the crew because humans love to have sex with multiple partners and moves forward with the plan even though she’s heavily pregnant and begs him to not do this 🤦♀️ And yes soon after this debacle, she enters labor/childbirth. She loves her baby but Sal sends the baby away and seems surprised at her running after the “halfbreed” (how he thinks of his infant son). And again he is surprised by her heartbroken behavior and her later almost catatonic depression.
Obviously this story was a train wreck. I skimmed the vile sex scenes and the rest of the time it was endless scenes of degrading talking down to her or about her, feeding her like an animal, taking her for walks on a leash and allowing crew members to pet (sexually fondle) her, patting her on the head to show his affection, bathing her in icy water etc. this is definitely not romance. NO ONE ever learns anything in this book. Seb is just the lesser of 2 evils- he’s not a slaver but considers selling her to a slaver (this is after they’ve had a child and he sent the child away)...😳. No romance or love. No tenderness. No kindness or compassion, not even that level of care most of us would give a stranger.
After Earth unknowingly proves it’s technological advancement, all human pets are suddenly seen as free to return home. No official plan to take them home. Owners must do so at cost. Seb isn’t sure what to do because he can’t afford her trip home and he likes her companionship. However, the crew pool resources to send her home. So, she finally goes home and because it’s been so long (an imperial year and I’m not sure how that equates) she has to start over on earth.
Two years later, she’s finally back on her feet and living in a new apartment when she hears a noise and goes to investigate. It’s her son standing in her kitchen. She races to hug her child and finally sees Seb who is standing in the shadows like a creeper. Seb tells her that her son can’t speak her language but that he wanted to meet her. Seb lets her know that he agreed to make a pit stop to Earth so that the boy can meet her. That’s where this shitshow ends. No HEA and no HFN.
Now for my original review..
Too bad we can’t do negative stars
Too bad I can’t get my time back!
If you like degrading scenes for women then this is the book for you.
Let me begin with Ensley, a New Yorker who says some pretty nasty things about the fellow human women captured. The woman from Kentucky she never learns her name and calls her “hillbilly” and she refers to hillbilly and Oklahoma (because that’s where she was from) as druggie trailer park trash. I almost stopped reading. At this point I no longer cared about Ensley and hoped she learns to be a better person, but alas no. Still, she didn’t deserve this...
Ensley is bought as a pet by Seb, a military ship captain. Apparently pets are expensive sex slaves who are treated just like dogs...for instance she learns a word of Sebs language and she receives a treat (chocolate) fed to her like you’d give a dog a treat and she’s dressed up like you’d give a dog a doggie sweater and she’s carried around like a miniature dog. She’s patted on the head, sits on the floor by her masters feet, and has a doggie bed. It’s pretty uncomfortable for me that she never seems bothered by how she’s treated. From first glance, she’s excited about Seb because he’s hot?! What?🤨
Most disturbing is all the fondling (petting of her genitals) paired with degrading sex and even a brutal humiliating gang sex scene. She even refers to it as rape to Seth and he’s still clueless. She is forcibly taken in the anus by Seb and then tells Seb that wasn’t rape? I was confused. Seb sees her crying as a barbaric loss of control and her struggle while being gang raped as her being disobedient. It’s filled with this type of abuse. Seb provides discipline- He carries a whip and hits her on the genitals or repeatedly on her derrière if she doesn’t comply with his demands even though he can’t speak her language nor she his. He automatically assumes that she’s stupid for not picking up his language immediately but he fails to learn even a single word of English ever.
Ensley falls pregnant after the gang rape. Things calm for awhile but then Seb decides for the morale of his men, another gang bang of Ensley is necessary even though Ensley was obviously distraught (crying uncontrollably for days) after the last time. He seems to assume for no apparent reason, that this is an opportunity to show her affection from the crew because humans love to have sex with multiple partners and moves forward with the plan even though she’s heavily pregnant and begs him to not do this 🤦♀️ And yes soon after this debacle, she enters labor/childbirth. She loves her baby but Sal sends the baby away and seems surprised at her running after the “halfbreed” (how he thinks of his infant son). And again he is surprised by her heartbroken behavior and her later almost catatonic depression.
Obviously this story was a train wreck. I skimmed the vile sex scenes and the rest of the time it was endless scenes of degrading talking down to her or about her, feeding her like an animal, taking her for walks on a leash and allowing crew members to pet (sexually fondle) her, patting her on the head to show his affection, bathing her in icy water etc. this is definitely not romance. NO ONE ever learns anything in this book. Seb is just the lesser of 2 evils- he’s not a slaver but considers selling her to a slaver (this is after they’ve had a child and he sent the child away)...😳. No romance or love. No tenderness. No kindness or compassion, not even that level of care most of us would give a stranger.
After Earth unknowingly proves it’s technological advancement, all human pets are suddenly seen as free to return home. No official plan to take them home. Owners must do so at cost. Seb isn’t sure what to do because he can’t afford her trip home and he likes her companionship. However, the crew pool resources to send her home. So, she finally goes home and because it’s been so long (an imperial year and I’m not sure how that equates) she has to start over on earth.
Two years later, she’s finally back on her feet and living in a new apartment when she hears a noise and goes to investigate. It’s her son standing in her kitchen. She races to hug her child and finally sees Seb who is standing in the shadows like a creeper. Seb tells her that her son can’t speak her language but that he wanted to meet her. Seb lets her know that he agreed to make a pit stop to Earth so that the boy can meet her. That’s where this shitshow ends. No HEA and no HFN.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 8, 2023
***9/8/23 update: the author has deleted all of her comments. Hmm, how strange 🤨🤣
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***9/3/23 update after the author has commented on every highlight and note: I read this in 2023 and the book was originally published in 2020. I was not paid for this review and I have never heard of Kirkus. This review had 4 likes at the time of her comment so if this blows up, that's all on her for jumping into a reader's space and trying to "defend" her crappy book that I "didn't understand." She said she's screenshot everything in case I try to "edit my review." Fuck that, I stand by every word I said. And yes, it's okay to be paid for reviews and as an author you can't control the review so even if I was paid, it's still none of her business. That's an operating cost of asking for reviews and you may not like the feedback. 🥱 I stg if I hear the words "propaganda" or "prejudice" from a white woman's mouth ever again I am liable to throw up in their face ✋🏻 (and that's coming from a fellow white woman)
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Original review 7/26/23
DNF @ 76%
This was fucking terrible. I was just looking for some smutty alien romance and here’s the deal: the smut that was there wasn’t even that good, there’s no romance (I read other reviews after stopping and it doesn’t even seem like they even end up together), the pacing is atrocious, and the entire book is horrendously fatphobic (if curious, check out my highlights- TW for fatphobic thoughts/comments obviously). The FMC was also a terrible human being who reduced her fellow female captives to animals while claiming to be a “feminist.” This also needed HEAVY editing and while this is a debut and I am very lenient towards debut novels, I don’t feel one ounce of guilt for saying how badly edited it was because of how fucking atrocious the content was. I will never read from this author again.
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***9/3/23 update after the author has commented on every highlight and note: I read this in 2023 and the book was originally published in 2020. I was not paid for this review and I have never heard of Kirkus. This review had 4 likes at the time of her comment so if this blows up, that's all on her for jumping into a reader's space and trying to "defend" her crappy book that I "didn't understand." She said she's screenshot everything in case I try to "edit my review." Fuck that, I stand by every word I said. And yes, it's okay to be paid for reviews and as an author you can't control the review so even if I was paid, it's still none of her business. That's an operating cost of asking for reviews and you may not like the feedback. 🥱 I stg if I hear the words "propaganda" or "prejudice" from a white woman's mouth ever again I am liable to throw up in their face ✋🏻 (and that's coming from a fellow white woman)
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Original review 7/26/23
DNF @ 76%
This was fucking terrible. I was just looking for some smutty alien romance and here’s the deal: the smut that was there wasn’t even that good, there’s no romance (I read other reviews after stopping and it doesn’t even seem like they even end up together), the pacing is atrocious, and the entire book is horrendously fatphobic (if curious, check out my highlights- TW for fatphobic thoughts/comments obviously). The FMC was also a terrible human being who reduced her fellow female captives to animals while claiming to be a “feminist.” This also needed HEAVY editing and while this is a debut and I am very lenient towards debut novels, I don’t feel one ounce of guilt for saying how badly edited it was because of how fucking atrocious the content was. I will never read from this author again.
dnf
May 11, 2020Audio..5 stars
Story dnf @ 44% ...because....bored. This story barely touches on gray let alone dark. 🙄
Story dnf @ 44% ...because....bored. This story barely touches on gray let alone dark. 🙄
March 1, 2023
Ok but being from New York DOES NOT mean you are better at surviving an alien abduction. What is the relevance? Why is the FMC so pressed about the other FMCs who aren’t from New York just because they aren’t from there? DNF 10%
September 4, 2023
Read the sample. Read other peoples highlights. And I also read where the author stalked and harassed a reviewer saying she didn’t understand the book properly.
How’s this? I am a sci-fi reader and I still hated it. Where’s your defence now that your book is only for sci-fi readers and that reviewer just didn’t understand. Because I understood and it’s still fucking awful.
There was no editing.
It’s full to the brim of fat shaming and fat phobia no matter how hard your try to say it isn’t.
There’s no US propaganda other than the FMC just being an awful and unlikable character.
Romanticising body betray is gross and don’t try to condescend me by explaining what it is when I know what it bloody is.
Here’s a thought, STAY OUT OF READER SPACES.
And if you have to write a whole blog to explain your TEENY TINY NOVELLA and have to write an explanation to every single highlight, then you haven’t written it well. That’s on YOU not the reader.
Lastly, paying for reviews does not mean you only get positive ones. If you only pay for positive reviews that’s called ✨F R A U D✨ 😌
How’s this? I am a sci-fi reader and I still hated it. Where’s your defence now that your book is only for sci-fi readers and that reviewer just didn’t understand. Because I understood and it’s still fucking awful.
There was no editing.
It’s full to the brim of fat shaming and fat phobia no matter how hard your try to say it isn’t.
There’s no US propaganda other than the FMC just being an awful and unlikable character.
Romanticising body betray is gross and don’t try to condescend me by explaining what it is when I know what it bloody is.
Here’s a thought, STAY OUT OF READER SPACES.
And if you have to write a whole blog to explain your TEENY TINY NOVELLA and have to write an explanation to every single highlight, then you haven’t written it well. That’s on YOU not the reader.
Lastly, paying for reviews does not mean you only get positive ones. If you only pay for positive reviews that’s called ✨F R A U D✨ 😌
March 12, 2023
Oh boy, I wanted to give this book 3 stars because of a few good jokes. I wasn't sure how I felt about this book, but now it doesn't matter. How did it go from 3 to 1 star?
The End Ending made me give it 2 stars instead of 3.
The Afterword made me want to give it minus 10, but that is not possible, so it's 1.
Right after the 'About the Author' section, there is a 'My Human Pet Explained'. Hear me out, I have read deep and complicated philosophical writing. I never in my life had an author explain the book to me at the end. That is an absolute no-go for me.
Twilight is way deeper than this. Stephenie Meyer is Socrates compared to this author. But the balls to say your Alien Erotic book is deep social critique and that it fights propaganda is astonishing. I laughed about the first section, and then I wanted to cry after I continued to read.
There is more, but it just feels weird when the author talks like that at the end of the book. It feels pretentious and like you are being talked down to. Not even my literature Prof. talks like this after we read a difficult classic novel.
The End Ending made me give it 2 stars instead of 3.
The Afterword made me want to give it minus 10, but that is not possible, so it's 1.
Right after the 'About the Author' section, there is a 'My Human Pet Explained'. Hear me out, I have read deep and complicated philosophical writing. I never in my life had an author explain the book to me at the end. That is an absolute no-go for me.
Twilight is way deeper than this. Stephenie Meyer is Socrates compared to this author. But the balls to say your Alien Erotic book is deep social critique and that it fights propaganda is astonishing. I laughed about the first section, and then I wanted to cry after I continued to read.
"Ensley is proud to be a New Yorker because the press and propaganda in the US she has grown up with have told her she should be."I refuse to unironically listen to 'the press and propaganda' after a stupid alien romance.
There is more, but it just feels weird when the author talks like that at the end of the book. It feels pretentious and like you are being talked down to. Not even my literature Prof. talks like this after we read a difficult classic novel.
May 16, 2024
Seriously negative stars I'd like to block this novel and the author forever
I came back to this with the best intentions and fresh eyes and this time I did not dnf but powered through
What I got for that:
- pick me heroine, in every sense of the word
- women hating women
- women fawning over alien men for attention/praise/positive reinforcement
- fatshaming
- basically no world-building and no plot
The premise here is basic and as old as time. New York native Pickmeisha gets snatched by alien pet traders and put into a "puppy pound".
The first thing she does is to pick a fight with all the other captive women she meets there. She doesn't learn their names but instead calls them "Hillbilly" or by their US state of origin.
Pickmeisha is a massive asshole who calls one of the commiserating women in the same jail cell a "trailer trash whore" in chapter 1. She also victim-blames them for not trying to reason with their captives (who don't understand English anyway). When she finds out the other women actually physically fought, one of them to the point of getting mutilated and then "repaired" and chained, Pickmeisha sneers even more.
Her hatred is purely for her fellow women, and theirs for her. They don't hate their captors. They only fight each other. In a ludicrous scene right at the start, Pickmeisha kicks one of the other women who got too mouthy with her, over food kibbles (!)
She's very proud of the fact that she doesn't let these horrible "bitches" walk all over her.
At this point, you may just think: well being kidnapped is just a tough situation, of course everyone is at each other's throats instead of getting to know each other, even at a surface level, despite sharing a cell for WEEKS.
But Pickmeisha changes her tune real quick when the MEN show up.
She gets lucky when despite her antagonism, she isn't the very first "bitch" to be shoved to the front of the cell by her lovely cellmates, and she only ends up in the front when the hot alien dude shows up, who immediately picks her.
What I want to highlight here is how the author presented this first meeting of scared, dirty captive meeting a potential buyer/owner for the first time, with the language barrier still intact and some of the other jail mates already having been carried off, kicking and screaming, by really scary monsters (with tentacles!!!).
Pickmeisha salivates for the hot stud who is checking her out like merchandise, praises his looks, his commanding gestures, his voice etc. She monologues about how she is desperate for him to pick her, not because she ever reflected on where some less fortunate women ended up, but because he's just so perfect!!!
Where her first reaction to the women she meets in the book are negative or cautious and suspicious, she takes to patriarchy central like a champ.
When Seb takes her home, she immediately takes to call him "Master" (affectionate) in her mind, heaping glowing praise on him for existing, breathing near her, giving her positive attention etc.
Seb is whatever. I'm not here to talk about him. Or about his alien culture that is poorly worked out and makes a lackluster backdrop for this patriarchy fan girl sex fantasy. Let me just note that Seb is one of many blank male characters on his space ship, who owns Pickmeishas affection for the glorious reason that he bought her and not the others. She does get groped by other men and he also makes her have sex with them, with some paper-thin "it's our culture" gloss as reasoning for that.
Back to the FMC. The contrast between how she views (human) women and the alien men she is surrounded by is stark. She doesn't like being fondled by other men, but not because it is sexual assault and against her will and makes her feel gross but
a) because she is a prudish American (this is actually explained in the novel, like ... I don't even know what to say to that)
and b) she is Seb's little girl and deviation from monogamy is painful to her soul (not for emotional reasons, because as a reader we never really get the feeling that she cares for Seb ~ as a person ~ but basically as her ~ owner ~ which entitles him, and only him, to her unconditional love and devotion and everyone else is a thief who impugnes Seb's property.)
Most of the story plays in the microcosm of Seb's ship, of which he is the commanding officer. There are no other characters, really.
Seb has a right-hand man/aide/apprentice, who is a younger man. This character is unnamed, despite the fact that he spends months washing the FMC every single day leashes her, and takes her for walkies around the ship, where she is inevitably accosted by crew, who are always waiting around to fondle her exposed pubes through her cut-out stripper outfits that she isn't allowed to not wear. I want to point out that this young aide/dog-sitter never gets a mean nickname by the FMC. She doesn't call him "Hillbilly" in her mind or calls him a "trailer trash whore". There is no malice in her monologues about him.
The second, non-Seb man we meet is the ship doctor. The FMC fears his invasive treatments and therefore dislikes him, but she does it the same way an animal would. There is no malice in her thoughts about him. He also does not get a mean nickname. His manner is described as professional. He is not a lecher, he is just professionally doing his job poking and prodding her.
I hope that by now you have caught on that the FMC has a whole encyclopedia of excuses when it comes to men, and only disdain for women.
I could go on, but I want to highlight the fat-shaming in the novel.
While this is pervasive throughout the whole novel (many, if not all the pets that Seb & Pickmeisha encounter are "fat" "overfed" and they never fail to mention it and also comment), it is also discussed.
Seb repeatedly monologues that he doesn't want his pet to "get fat".
He is cautious about chocolate because "overindulgence" is bad
He talks to the doctor about keeping the FMC slim and ~ not fat ~
When he catches his crew slipping the heavily pregnant (!!!!!!!!!!!) he loses it and tells them to stop or "she'll get fat"!!!!
If you want to know what Seb sounds like, I recommend watching Yolanda Hadid telling her skinny supermodel daughter Gigi not to eat on TV and to "have half an almond and chew it really well" to stop feeling hungry. Her level of toxicity and fatshaming and pure delulu malice towards eating food is what you can expect from this novel.
So this is a true trash fire, I don't recommend this to anyone. -100 stars, no enjoyment just annoyance and sadness for all the feelings that were hurt to produce such a malicious work.
The author probably should check the way she thinks about women vs how she thinks about men because this was not healthy or safe and I promise it wasn't an intentional deconstruction of internalized misogyny handled in a clever way that simply flew over my dumb woman brain.
May 20, 2020
Ensly loves her life in New York. Being abducted by aliens is the last thing she ever expects. When she wakes up on a ship in the company of three other women, she can hardly believe what’s happened. Then she meets her new master, Seb, and everything changes.
So this was an unusual book for me. I admit, the story made me a little uncomfortable at times, but I put it aside because this is an interesting idea. Even though it was weird, I did like the relationship between Seb and Ensly. It was cute in the beginning though, again, I found there were some parts I thought were awkward.
The ending had a sweet feeling to it, and throughout the entire story, it was easy to sympathize with both characters. Since we’re told the story through both Seb and Ensly’s eyes, we get to really understand what each goes through.
Very interesting story if you’re looking for an unusual erotica piece.
Narration worked well for the story. Both narrators did a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
So this was an unusual book for me. I admit, the story made me a little uncomfortable at times, but I put it aside because this is an interesting idea. Even though it was weird, I did like the relationship between Seb and Ensly. It was cute in the beginning though, again, I found there were some parts I thought were awkward.
The ending had a sweet feeling to it, and throughout the entire story, it was easy to sympathize with both characters. Since we’re told the story through both Seb and Ensly’s eyes, we get to really understand what each goes through.
Very interesting story if you’re looking for an unusual erotica piece.
Narration worked well for the story. Both narrators did a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
July 7, 2023
No thanks. This book should be classed a horror.
I no longer want to be abducted by aliens.
This girl was so annoying. The ratchild was all " I come from New York therefore I'm more important than you" she was just like: Let me go. They can stay but let me go Im FroM New YOrK therefore people will actually miss me.
She was a almost feminist, not even a feminist just had basic human rights standards but after she saw this girl she was all 'I want to be such a good pet for my master'
It's Stockholm syndrome at it's worse.
I no longer want to be abducted by aliens.
This girl was so annoying. The ratchild was all " I come from New York therefore I'm more important than you" she was just like: Let me go. They can stay but let me go Im FroM New YOrK therefore people will actually miss me.
She was a almost feminist, not even a feminist just had basic human rights standards but after she saw this girl she was all 'I want to be such a good pet for my master'
It's Stockholm syndrome at it's worse.
May 13, 2020
Nice change from the usual science fiction abduction trope. Ensley is abducted, deals with it reasonably well when she sees the alternatives to her grey captor. Falls into a kind of Stockholm Syndrome becomes incredibly depressed when really bad things happen to her but then manages to still make a life for herself. There is some sex in the book, but it's not supposed to be romantic. The audiobook was fantastic. Amber Lee Connors and James Ford (British) played Ensley and Seb brilliantly. Although if you are looking for a Loki Renard kind of book this is not it. Or a HEA this is not it. This is science fiction with sex and I thought it was a brilliant audiobook! Highly recommend!
And I loved the comic relief. My favorite part of the book was when Seb asked her if she wanted to take her rainbow ball with her and she was going to shove that thing into her little bag if it killed her. HAHA. My Human Pet
And I loved the comic relief. My favorite part of the book was when Seb asked her if she wanted to take her rainbow ball with her and she was going to shove that thing into her little bag if it killed her. HAHA. My Human Pet
June 20, 2020
I received this book from the goodreads giveaway program. I picked up the book this week because I needed a short read, and at around 170 pages this book was just right. I did not know what to expect, and found some of the other reviews before I read My Human Pet confusing, especially about the sexual aspects. I did not find the overall premise of the book ridiculous, and abducted humans living elsewhere in the galaxy as pets, trying to prove their sentience and earn rights, was what I was expecting. I expected some sort of rape scene based upon other reviews. Instead, the entire middle of the book reminded me of a sex fantasy story from Penthouse Magazine published during the 1970s. You know, those sex stories for the men who bought the magazine for the reading, not the pictures. And the Penthouse Magazine stories were as good if not better than My Human Pet. I do not recommend this book.
August 23, 2025
Did I read this? No. But I’m still giving this one star because it is quite possibly the biggest fucking dumpster fire book I’ve ever had the pleasure to read reviews for. This author has got to be the most misogynist psycho ever. Idk what kind of personality disorder would make someone write this book, but I’m guessing it’s written by a man who hates women.
September 14, 2020
Not your normal human pet story. Better.
This turned out to be very moving for me.
In the beginning, the h is immature and selfish. She grows throughout this story.
The last few chapters grabbed my attention and the tone changes. I found this to be very touching, thoughtful and one of a kind Sci-fi human pet story. Recommend.
This turned out to be very moving for me.
In the beginning, the h is immature and selfish. She grows throughout this story.
The last few chapters grabbed my attention and the tone changes. I found this to be very touching, thoughtful and one of a kind Sci-fi human pet story. Recommend.
February 4, 2022
Zero stars.
September 11, 2022
I did not enjoy this book.
None of the characters were likeable the main character I would say was the least likeable of all (imagine wishing misfortune on complete strangers because they came from poorer backgrounds?). I don’t understand why the women were so awful to each other and the FMC was a classist jerk.
It was a fast read though, so there is that.
None of the characters were likeable the main character I would say was the least likeable of all (imagine wishing misfortune on complete strangers because they came from poorer backgrounds?). I don’t understand why the women were so awful to each other and the FMC was a classist jerk.
It was a fast read though, so there is that.
July 25, 2021
2.5⭐'s
I read a lot of mixed reviews on this book, so I wasn't sure if I would like it or hate it. I will say, I really didn't like Ensley. She is the female main character of this book, but her personality is terrible. She's introduced to us as a stuck up New Yorker who thinks she's better than everyone else. She really took it to the next level of nasty with some of the things she said and did in the book. I mean, at the very beginning she shows her true colors when she us abducted and immediately treats the other abducted women like trash. Of course, they hate her after that, but we are supposed to think "anyone would act like that in her situation," or something like, "this is the real human nature shining its true colors," but I'm not buying it.
It's her, its most definitely her that is the problem.
Seb was an interesting character though, he's a soldier living in a society that sees humans as little barbaric pets. Its a status symbol to own one, and he is so excited when he purchases one. The society Seb lives in sees humans as breed-able pets that can expand their gene pool, but are too barbaric to be anything more than a pet.
I just feel like there were some interesting things about this story, but Ensley really killed it for me. Its so hard to like a story when you don't like the main character, and I really didn't like Ensley at all. I empathized with her and the whole baby situation, but for pretty much everything else I found it hard to empathize with her.
I read a lot of mixed reviews on this book, so I wasn't sure if I would like it or hate it. I will say, I really didn't like Ensley. She is the female main character of this book, but her personality is terrible. She's introduced to us as a stuck up New Yorker who thinks she's better than everyone else. She really took it to the next level of nasty with some of the things she said and did in the book. I mean, at the very beginning she shows her true colors when she us abducted and immediately treats the other abducted women like trash. Of course, they hate her after that, but we are supposed to think "anyone would act like that in her situation," or something like, "this is the real human nature shining its true colors," but I'm not buying it.
It's her, its most definitely her that is the problem.
Seb was an interesting character though, he's a soldier living in a society that sees humans as little barbaric pets. Its a status symbol to own one, and he is so excited when he purchases one. The society Seb lives in sees humans as breed-able pets that can expand their gene pool, but are too barbaric to be anything more than a pet.
I just feel like there were some interesting things about this story, but Ensley really killed it for me. Its so hard to like a story when you don't like the main character, and I really didn't like Ensley at all. I empathized with her and the whole baby situation, but for pretty much everything else I found it hard to empathize with her.
February 28, 2023
LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOO
will-never-read
September 8, 2023Fatphobic badly written book. Author is also a transphobe who comments on highlights and reviews so watch out! “She” is gonna get ya (100% this is a pen name)
March 17, 2025
Disclaimer: I am not one to condone overly negative reviews; however, given the content of this book and the snarky responses from the author to other Goodreads reviews as well as the Afterword within the novel itself, I believe it to be warranted in this case.
First off, the writing is full of awkward phrasing, grammatical errors, and simply does not flow well. It needed more work. Additionally, while this novel was proclaimed to be a "science fiction novel with sexual scenes", it boils down to dark erotica with a tiiiiiinnnyyy dash of sci-fi. There is no romance. There is no redemption. It is unapologetically full of non/dub-con scenes including gangrape with the body betrayal trope, so take heed.
Moving on to the FMC: I find her to be inexcusably arrogant and despicable. I have NEVER hated a FMC as much as I do this one, and personally have found the villains of many other novels to be both more likeable and more forgivable than her. I would've DNF'd by the first chapter, but continued to skim and speed read simply for the sake of this review. The MMC is your typical jackass alien at first and...stays that way. But he's so hot that the FMC chants "Pick me!" while being sold as a slave. Not much to say about him, his character is basically set up to believe that humans should be honored by the aliens deigning to rape them (but it's not actually rape since the humans are so instinctively horny), and he doesn't really change much. Even when he is more affectionate to FMC there is a very clear undertone of him not believing her to be equal. Another warning, the book is practically strewn with unnecessary comments about weight. And I mean that some of the "fat" comments seem very forcefully embedded into the writing and irrelevant to what was going on at the time. The ending of the novel is, uh, not really an ending worth mentioning. My final thought while finishing was simply that I was glad I got this book through Kindle Unlimited and didn't waste my money, although I certainly wasted my time.
Upon finishing the book, I was greeted by an Afterword that began as such: "My Human Pet is not meant to be just another science fiction romance to be taken at face value, and there are many deeper meanings to it. However, for many readers, these not-so-subtle points were missed, so I will briefly explain". My stomach dropped. I continued to read, hoping that it might actually contain insightful views, only to find the author digging herself into a hole. I have never seen such condescending, narcissistic views of one's own book and their *own readers*. First, she proceeds to explain that the novel beginning with the words "shark attack" (when the FMC is awakened by a Jaws theme alarm clock) was due to it being more likely to be eaten by a shark than abducted by aliens. Such.... introspection? I honestly hope this was merely a joke that fell flat, because otherwise the author reminds me of my high school English teachers insisting on attaching deep symbolism and meaning to the most shallow details.
The second explanation proclaims that the FMC is proud to be a New Yorker due to propaganda that "brainwashed" her, and that is why she treats the abducted women from other states like shit. The author states that if you dislike the FMC for her behavior but see no issue with how the other women treat the FMC, then you are just as prejudiced against anyone not from the same place as you. She explains that she purposefully left out describing ethnicities at the beginning to reveal how prejudiced people are, and "once we know the women's ethnicities, it shouldn't change anything except to let readers know that FMC is the smallest and the weakest" (although the author refuses to describe her skin color in what appears to be an attempt to be "different", the FMC has blonde hair and there is a white woman on the cover, much to no one's surprise). I am simply floored at the audacity of this author. Pot meet kettle, Miss Hypocritical Author who just implied that being white = being small and weak. I cannot articulate how much this author angers me. She seems to believe that her poor writing contains such deep, philosophical meaning, and that it is the fault of the readers for not "understanding" her musings about our world. Just no. There is little to no worldbuilding to create any justification in regards to the FMC acting like such a little cu** over being a New Yorker, and the other women in the cage didn't treat her like garbage because she was a New Yorker, but rather because she was a cu**. Let's make that clear. To be even more clear, I cannot recall ever reading *anywhere* in the book about states having propaganda discriminating against one another. In other words, this novel was staged in modern Earth, not in an alternative Earth. Again, from the bottom of my heart, there is NO worldbuilding to explain why the FMC acts like a cu**. The FMC even described one woman as a meth head hillbilly before knowing where they were from, just based on looks, conveniently ignoring that the woman is literally being held in captivity and they all probably look like garbage? She also complains about how the world is shi**y and impoverished because of billionaires profiting at the expense of others, yet harks on others by calling them trailer trash. This FMC proudly states that she thought that being from New York "would be enough to let me go. My life matters, I mean look at me and look at all of you" then IMMEDIATELY turns around and thinks "and this is why aliens feel that they can just take us, we don't even take care of each other". What is this self-pity and victimization? Another favorite quote of mine is "The first human I encounter only speaks Spanish and no English....She doesn't even condescend to speak a word of English to me, just tells me 'No hablo ingles'." I laughed at the stupidity. Again, there is no redemption whatsoever for the FMC. None of this discrimination is EVER actually addressed appropriately in the novel. The FMC belittles the other states, thinks she's in the right to do so, and then she's whisked away to be a slave with no other thought than "Mr. Hot Alien~, I like being a pet, but wait, I'm a feminist who hates other women except that one alien woman who you're having sex with in front of me!". So much for writing something meaningful to address our problematic society. It's like the author wrote a trashy novel for fun, then had to submit it for a serious assignment and tried to backtrack and attach deeper meaning in the Afterword for points from their professor.
Next up is the author explaining that "half" the sex is not supposed to be romantic. Sorry, hun, but I found *none* of it to be romantic. Stockholm syndrome belongs to dark erotica, not romance. And honestly the sex scenes were subpar in the first place.
The author then states that if you don't consider her "ending" to be HEA or HFN, then she "seriously questions your understanding of relationships". ??????? We need to sit down and talk, Miss Author. You seem to be confused about the very thing you wrote, which you even stated was Stockholm syndrome while enslaved?? I won't spoil it for any that read this far and still wish to try the book, but what the absolute f***? I don't even consider that to be a proper ending, let alone a HEA or HFN. Nothing happy about it. And I actually like dark, non-con erotica, but not when it dresses up and pretends to be something else.
And at last she finishes with "If you could identify all of these themes, and understand the story, thank you, and well done. It was a book not just about aliens but about the human condition." I will be real honest, you can basically pick up any other alien romance novel and find deeper meaning about the human condition than what this novel provided. Exploring the concept of racism and prejudice is pretty par for the course of any alien novel, basically a cornerstone of the genre. But at least Ice Planet Barbarians didn't try to seem holier-than-thou like this.
First off, the writing is full of awkward phrasing, grammatical errors, and simply does not flow well. It needed more work. Additionally, while this novel was proclaimed to be a "science fiction novel with sexual scenes", it boils down to dark erotica with a tiiiiiinnnyyy dash of sci-fi. There is no romance. There is no redemption. It is unapologetically full of non/dub-con scenes including gangrape with the body betrayal trope, so take heed.
Moving on to the FMC: I find her to be inexcusably arrogant and despicable. I have NEVER hated a FMC as much as I do this one, and personally have found the villains of many other novels to be both more likeable and more forgivable than her. I would've DNF'd by the first chapter, but continued to skim and speed read simply for the sake of this review. The MMC is your typical jackass alien at first and...stays that way. But he's so hot that the FMC chants "Pick me!" while being sold as a slave. Not much to say about him, his character is basically set up to believe that humans should be honored by the aliens deigning to rape them (but it's not actually rape since the humans are so instinctively horny), and he doesn't really change much. Even when he is more affectionate to FMC there is a very clear undertone of him not believing her to be equal. Another warning, the book is practically strewn with unnecessary comments about weight. And I mean that some of the "fat" comments seem very forcefully embedded into the writing and irrelevant to what was going on at the time. The ending of the novel is, uh, not really an ending worth mentioning. My final thought while finishing was simply that I was glad I got this book through Kindle Unlimited and didn't waste my money, although I certainly wasted my time.
Upon finishing the book, I was greeted by an Afterword that began as such: "My Human Pet is not meant to be just another science fiction romance to be taken at face value, and there are many deeper meanings to it. However, for many readers, these not-so-subtle points were missed, so I will briefly explain". My stomach dropped. I continued to read, hoping that it might actually contain insightful views, only to find the author digging herself into a hole. I have never seen such condescending, narcissistic views of one's own book and their *own readers*. First, she proceeds to explain that the novel beginning with the words "shark attack" (when the FMC is awakened by a Jaws theme alarm clock) was due to it being more likely to be eaten by a shark than abducted by aliens. Such.... introspection? I honestly hope this was merely a joke that fell flat, because otherwise the author reminds me of my high school English teachers insisting on attaching deep symbolism and meaning to the most shallow details.
The second explanation proclaims that the FMC is proud to be a New Yorker due to propaganda that "brainwashed" her, and that is why she treats the abducted women from other states like shit. The author states that if you dislike the FMC for her behavior but see no issue with how the other women treat the FMC, then you are just as prejudiced against anyone not from the same place as you. She explains that she purposefully left out describing ethnicities at the beginning to reveal how prejudiced people are, and "once we know the women's ethnicities, it shouldn't change anything except to let readers know that FMC is the smallest and the weakest" (although the author refuses to describe her skin color in what appears to be an attempt to be "different", the FMC has blonde hair and there is a white woman on the cover, much to no one's surprise). I am simply floored at the audacity of this author. Pot meet kettle, Miss Hypocritical Author who just implied that being white = being small and weak. I cannot articulate how much this author angers me. She seems to believe that her poor writing contains such deep, philosophical meaning, and that it is the fault of the readers for not "understanding" her musings about our world. Just no. There is little to no worldbuilding to create any justification in regards to the FMC acting like such a little cu** over being a New Yorker, and the other women in the cage didn't treat her like garbage because she was a New Yorker, but rather because she was a cu**. Let's make that clear. To be even more clear, I cannot recall ever reading *anywhere* in the book about states having propaganda discriminating against one another. In other words, this novel was staged in modern Earth, not in an alternative Earth. Again, from the bottom of my heart, there is NO worldbuilding to explain why the FMC acts like a cu**. The FMC even described one woman as a meth head hillbilly before knowing where they were from, just based on looks, conveniently ignoring that the woman is literally being held in captivity and they all probably look like garbage? She also complains about how the world is shi**y and impoverished because of billionaires profiting at the expense of others, yet harks on others by calling them trailer trash. This FMC proudly states that she thought that being from New York "would be enough to let me go. My life matters, I mean look at me and look at all of you" then IMMEDIATELY turns around and thinks "and this is why aliens feel that they can just take us, we don't even take care of each other". What is this self-pity and victimization? Another favorite quote of mine is "The first human I encounter only speaks Spanish and no English....She doesn't even condescend to speak a word of English to me, just tells me 'No hablo ingles'." I laughed at the stupidity. Again, there is no redemption whatsoever for the FMC. None of this discrimination is EVER actually addressed appropriately in the novel. The FMC belittles the other states, thinks she's in the right to do so, and then she's whisked away to be a slave with no other thought than "Mr. Hot Alien~, I like being a pet, but wait, I'm a feminist who hates other women except that one alien woman who you're having sex with in front of me!". So much for writing something meaningful to address our problematic society. It's like the author wrote a trashy novel for fun, then had to submit it for a serious assignment and tried to backtrack and attach deeper meaning in the Afterword for points from their professor.
Next up is the author explaining that "half" the sex is not supposed to be romantic. Sorry, hun, but I found *none* of it to be romantic. Stockholm syndrome belongs to dark erotica, not romance. And honestly the sex scenes were subpar in the first place.
The author then states that if you don't consider her "ending" to be HEA or HFN, then she "seriously questions your understanding of relationships". ??????? We need to sit down and talk, Miss Author. You seem to be confused about the very thing you wrote, which you even stated was Stockholm syndrome while enslaved?? I won't spoil it for any that read this far and still wish to try the book, but what the absolute f***? I don't even consider that to be a proper ending, let alone a HEA or HFN. Nothing happy about it. And I actually like dark, non-con erotica, but not when it dresses up and pretends to be something else.
And at last she finishes with "If you could identify all of these themes, and understand the story, thank you, and well done. It was a book not just about aliens but about the human condition." I will be real honest, you can basically pick up any other alien romance novel and find deeper meaning about the human condition than what this novel provided. Exploring the concept of racism and prejudice is pretty par for the course of any alien novel, basically a cornerstone of the genre. But at least Ice Planet Barbarians didn't try to seem holier-than-thou like this.
May 4, 2021
I’m not sure how to rate this. I was extremely annoyed through a lot of this book, and then hopeful, and then just disappointed. But I can’t give it to low of a rating because I was definitely hooked. I couldn’t put the book down.
Ensley is abducted by aliens and sold to Seb an Imperial commander, as a pet. It is sort of a status symbol to have a pet. Seb is told by his government that humans are barbarians with no reasoning or cognitive thinking skills. (I don’t understand how they continued to believe this when the humans learned to speak their language but the aliens never learned to speak the human languages... just a thought that irritated me) But slowly Seb starts to realize that he and all his fellow race have been lied to and that Ensley is smart and she is more like him that he is comfortable admitting, because that would mean he has done something terribly wrong to another sentient being.
There were devastatingly sad moments in this book, like when Ensley is forced to give up her baby. But it is also the turning point and the point where everyone on Seb’s ship starts to realize what they have done in participating in Ensley’s pet status.
Then there were infuriating parts that made me so angry. I understand that in a situation like this you might not act how you would expect. Being abducted and sold, but I personally think you would put up more of a fight to letting random people walk up and fondle you, or even wearing the clothing with the cutouts exposing yourself to everyone. I get that Stockholm syndrome might play a part in this, but I just think there would be more resistance than Ensley showed. Especially when the aliens were nice to her. They weren’t scary or cruel. She got swatted a couple times but I just think she went along with things and enjoyed it a little to easily.
And she made the dumb assumptions that humans were sex crazed barbarians seem true. She didn’t want to participate in the orgies but after a little punishment she relented and enjoyed it. I just don’t think that’s how a normal human would react. Especially if she felt awful about it immediately after. And when she finally does tell him she doesn’t like it, I don’t understand why she doesn’t put up any fight when it happens again. She later refers to them as rape orgies, but then recants her statement which made me so mad, because that’s exactly what they were. She didn’t want to do it, she didn’t want to be there. That was rape. It even hurt her at first, of course then it felt good. 🙄 I was so happy when I thought she was going to call him out on his behavior and how she was treated like an object and a whore, but it never really goes there. She says a few things, but I wanted him told with no miscommunication, that humans DO NOT act like that. And do not enjoyed being used by many men. But it’s kind of just assumed that he understands this. No, I wanted the words, I wanted to know he knew.
And then it just sort of ends.
Humans are finally set free and viewed as equals not pets, so she is sent home. 2 years later Seb shows up with their now toddler saying he wanted to meet his mother. And he explains that he read her book, the book that we just read. I assume the author thought this would be a cool twist at the end and it was I guess, but it just ends. There is no closure or even hint of what happens next in their future. He’s just like “hey we came for a visit.” Boom. The End. Also, he mentions being amused with his POV in the book, which sort of negates everything, because now as the reader, we are left with the knowledge that that was only Ensley’s interpretation of his thoughts and feelings, not ACTUALLY his thoughts and feelings. This means we truly have no idea how Seb feels, he could just see her as an amusing little toy he had once.
What. The. Heck? I just read that whole book waiting for that? Just nothing. She already said that she is meant to stay on earth and couldn’t believe she wanted to stay in space. But what does that mean for her and Seb? And their child? How was he visiting her? Was he doing it illegally? Were they going to try to work things out? It would have taken so little time to just write a paragraph explaining what their future would look like. Instead we are left in limbo.
I felt kind of sad and disheartened by the “ending.” I’m also left felling disappointed. Mainly because I was so interested. I was locked into this story until the last page even though I was unsettled about most everything that happened. So for that I gave it 3 stars instead of 2, but I’m not super excited to read any more by this author based on how this ended. To me, the ending can make me forget my anger over certain scenes, if it’s written right. I was actually routing for Seb and Ensley for some reason. I don’t even know why because they didn’t have a very meaningful relationship.
Ugh I don’t know, I’m done thinking about this. On to the next book.
Ensley is abducted by aliens and sold to Seb an Imperial commander, as a pet. It is sort of a status symbol to have a pet. Seb is told by his government that humans are barbarians with no reasoning or cognitive thinking skills. (I don’t understand how they continued to believe this when the humans learned to speak their language but the aliens never learned to speak the human languages... just a thought that irritated me) But slowly Seb starts to realize that he and all his fellow race have been lied to and that Ensley is smart and she is more like him that he is comfortable admitting, because that would mean he has done something terribly wrong to another sentient being.
There were devastatingly sad moments in this book, like when Ensley is forced to give up her baby. But it is also the turning point and the point where everyone on Seb’s ship starts to realize what they have done in participating in Ensley’s pet status.
Then there were infuriating parts that made me so angry. I understand that in a situation like this you might not act how you would expect. Being abducted and sold, but I personally think you would put up more of a fight to letting random people walk up and fondle you, or even wearing the clothing with the cutouts exposing yourself to everyone. I get that Stockholm syndrome might play a part in this, but I just think there would be more resistance than Ensley showed. Especially when the aliens were nice to her. They weren’t scary or cruel. She got swatted a couple times but I just think she went along with things and enjoyed it a little to easily.
And she made the dumb assumptions that humans were sex crazed barbarians seem true. She didn’t want to participate in the orgies but after a little punishment she relented and enjoyed it. I just don’t think that’s how a normal human would react. Especially if she felt awful about it immediately after. And when she finally does tell him she doesn’t like it, I don’t understand why she doesn’t put up any fight when it happens again. She later refers to them as rape orgies, but then recants her statement which made me so mad, because that’s exactly what they were. She didn’t want to do it, she didn’t want to be there. That was rape. It even hurt her at first, of course then it felt good. 🙄 I was so happy when I thought she was going to call him out on his behavior and how she was treated like an object and a whore, but it never really goes there. She says a few things, but I wanted him told with no miscommunication, that humans DO NOT act like that. And do not enjoyed being used by many men. But it’s kind of just assumed that he understands this. No, I wanted the words, I wanted to know he knew.
And then it just sort of ends.
Humans are finally set free and viewed as equals not pets, so she is sent home. 2 years later Seb shows up with their now toddler saying he wanted to meet his mother. And he explains that he read her book, the book that we just read. I assume the author thought this would be a cool twist at the end and it was I guess, but it just ends. There is no closure or even hint of what happens next in their future. He’s just like “hey we came for a visit.” Boom. The End. Also, he mentions being amused with his POV in the book, which sort of negates everything, because now as the reader, we are left with the knowledge that that was only Ensley’s interpretation of his thoughts and feelings, not ACTUALLY his thoughts and feelings. This means we truly have no idea how Seb feels, he could just see her as an amusing little toy he had once.
What. The. Heck? I just read that whole book waiting for that? Just nothing. She already said that she is meant to stay on earth and couldn’t believe she wanted to stay in space. But what does that mean for her and Seb? And their child? How was he visiting her? Was he doing it illegally? Were they going to try to work things out? It would have taken so little time to just write a paragraph explaining what their future would look like. Instead we are left in limbo.
I felt kind of sad and disheartened by the “ending.” I’m also left felling disappointed. Mainly because I was so interested. I was locked into this story until the last page even though I was unsettled about most everything that happened. So for that I gave it 3 stars instead of 2, but I’m not super excited to read any more by this author based on how this ended. To me, the ending can make me forget my anger over certain scenes, if it’s written right. I was actually routing for Seb and Ensley for some reason. I don’t even know why because they didn’t have a very meaningful relationship.
Ugh I don’t know, I’m done thinking about this. On to the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2024
What did I just read? This was so bad on every level.
First of all, it reads like a five-year-old trying to tell you a story. It's bland and stilted with no real descriptions going on. Instead of describing aliens she literally just wrote that they look exactly like what abductees say aliens look like. The pacing is weird and jumps around and the word choices made me think this was a first draft and no one bothered to read it before releasing. I laughed out loud at the fact that the words "playfully play" made it even past the rough draft really.
Not everyone is into dark themes or morally grey/black plot devices. This book has a lot of dubious consent, lack of consent, and honestly a complete disregard for the concept of consent. Which, if handled right, isn't something I hate reading. But this was just handled so poorly. I get it, while they call her a pet, she is essentially a sex slave purchased with sex and breeding as the overall intention. Typically, in this sort of book, as Seb starts to consciously notice and acknowledge the things that upset Ensley, he should begin to modify his behaviors.
With communication issues and a super incorrect "owner's manual," as a reader, I can forgive the awkward surprise gangbang. At the time he assumed that's what made humans happy. However, when Ensley has a full-blown meltdown, expresses she is not interested in sharing and Seb says he feels guilty about the whole thing and misunderstanding her wants and needs... he still doubles down and does the exact same thing again???
This leads into the fact that there was no character growth. Seb is stubborn to the very end of the book that he is mad she doesn't like walking around naked or being touched by the other crewmembers. Even when she has the ability to properly communicate that. Even when they are supposedly "living like a married couple," there is no romance or affection.
Ensley starts as a horrible violent stuck-up bitch of a character and then immediately becomes docile and obedient for no real reason. So she only stands up for herself when its against other women, who are also bitches? Such feminism.
If at the end of the day, you think, "it doesn't have to be any good. I just want a quick alien smut read." Go read Iceplant Barbarians or something else instead. Even the smut was awful. Quite literally, "you want my penis in your vagina? And then he put his penis in her vagina." Even the human kept referring to her own body parts as vulva. Alien dialog using anatomically correct words? Ok sure. But that's not how you write what's meant to be sexy scenes... ever.
Also apparently, the most recent publication of this book has an afterward to "explain" the book to people who aren't smart enough to get the author's super deep social analysis hiding in there.... somewhere. I thought this was cringe and condescending before I read the book. However, it's even worse because I now learned it's the childish response to previous reviews that rightfully tore this horrible book apart. That's not how you respond to bad reviews. Especially when the bad reviews are right.
First of all, it reads like a five-year-old trying to tell you a story. It's bland and stilted with no real descriptions going on. Instead of describing aliens she literally just wrote that they look exactly like what abductees say aliens look like. The pacing is weird and jumps around and the word choices made me think this was a first draft and no one bothered to read it before releasing. I laughed out loud at the fact that the words "playfully play" made it even past the rough draft really.
Not everyone is into dark themes or morally grey/black plot devices. This book has a lot of dubious consent, lack of consent, and honestly a complete disregard for the concept of consent. Which, if handled right, isn't something I hate reading. But this was just handled so poorly. I get it, while they call her a pet, she is essentially a sex slave purchased with sex and breeding as the overall intention. Typically, in this sort of book, as Seb starts to consciously notice and acknowledge the things that upset Ensley, he should begin to modify his behaviors.
With communication issues and a super incorrect "owner's manual," as a reader, I can forgive the awkward surprise gangbang. At the time he assumed that's what made humans happy. However, when Ensley has a full-blown meltdown, expresses she is not interested in sharing and Seb says he feels guilty about the whole thing and misunderstanding her wants and needs... he still doubles down and does the exact same thing again???
This leads into the fact that there was no character growth. Seb is stubborn to the very end of the book that he is mad she doesn't like walking around naked or being touched by the other crewmembers. Even when she has the ability to properly communicate that. Even when they are supposedly "living like a married couple," there is no romance or affection.
Ensley starts as a horrible violent stuck-up bitch of a character and then immediately becomes docile and obedient for no real reason. So she only stands up for herself when its against other women, who are also bitches? Such feminism.
If at the end of the day, you think, "it doesn't have to be any good. I just want a quick alien smut read." Go read Iceplant Barbarians or something else instead. Even the smut was awful. Quite literally, "you want my penis in your vagina? And then he put his penis in her vagina." Even the human kept referring to her own body parts as vulva. Alien dialog using anatomically correct words? Ok sure. But that's not how you write what's meant to be sexy scenes... ever.
Also apparently, the most recent publication of this book has an afterward to "explain" the book to people who aren't smart enough to get the author's super deep social analysis hiding in there.... somewhere. I thought this was cringe and condescending before I read the book. However, it's even worse because I now learned it's the childish response to previous reviews that rightfully tore this horrible book apart. That's not how you respond to bad reviews. Especially when the bad reviews are right.
October 28, 2022
Controversial and thought provoking!
To be upfront, this was a disturbing read and will not be for everyone. It was well-written, but almost too realistic to be entertaining. I found Ensley to be both at times, coldly pragmatic in her response to her abduction (which I found refreshing) and stupidly slow in her development as Seb's pet. Especially when she was first brought onboard the ship. I also found Seb to be slow, and lacking empathy on many levels; but specifically about the installation of a translation chip. He knew it was a possibility right away and wanted to communicate with his pet, knew he could do it, but still let others talk him out of it until almost the very end. Not believable.
I have owned a lot of pets over my life, and never have I treated any of them the way he treated her, this goes to his lack of empathy. And no I don't think any of them are sentient either. I most especially don't allow others to abuse my pet. He abused her on multiple occasions, allowed others to abuse her and treated her after a while like you would a slave. Not a pet. Which indicates that he thought she was sentient but less than, much quicker than the explanation of the author. So even if YOU believe that he believed his government propaganda about her lack of sentience - still we rarely have sex or breed with our pets - unless we are some pretty sick 'puppies'. History has shown that all slave owning societies have both committed sexual congress and produced children with their slaves. His actions make him really stupid or totally lacking empathy. Either is disturbing for a male lead in a romance.
Or we can believe something else...
As a writer, I found it interesting, but I would place it more in the literary, dark erotic genres. Despite the author's explanation to the contrary at the end of the book (which she was kind enough to provide, and I read) there is no HEA or HFN for the couple - there is one glaring plot hole. How is both Seb and Dylan visiting her on earth if the humans and the IGC didn't sign a treaty? Or are we to imagine that the work in question is totally a work of Ensley's fictional mind done strictly for monetary value and not to be trusted at all (which is a suggestion of the author). On a romance level either action negates a true HEA or HFN. Hmmmm. See what I mean by thought provoking?
I rated it three stars because I rarely find a book that made me deeply ponder the subjects the author puts forth. For me it gets points for being well-written, controversial, disturbing and thought provoking.
Like I said, this book is not for everyone. If you are wanting romance, it won't be for you at all. To me it was too realistic to be truly entertaining which is what I look for in the romance genre as a reader.
To be upfront, this was a disturbing read and will not be for everyone. It was well-written, but almost too realistic to be entertaining. I found Ensley to be both at times, coldly pragmatic in her response to her abduction (which I found refreshing) and stupidly slow in her development as Seb's pet. Especially when she was first brought onboard the ship. I also found Seb to be slow, and lacking empathy on many levels; but specifically about the installation of a translation chip. He knew it was a possibility right away and wanted to communicate with his pet, knew he could do it, but still let others talk him out of it until almost the very end. Not believable.
I have owned a lot of pets over my life, and never have I treated any of them the way he treated her, this goes to his lack of empathy. And no I don't think any of them are sentient either. I most especially don't allow others to abuse my pet. He abused her on multiple occasions, allowed others to abuse her and treated her after a while like you would a slave. Not a pet. Which indicates that he thought she was sentient but less than, much quicker than the explanation of the author. So even if YOU believe that he believed his government propaganda about her lack of sentience - still we rarely have sex or breed with our pets - unless we are some pretty sick 'puppies'. History has shown that all slave owning societies have both committed sexual congress and produced children with their slaves. His actions make him really stupid or totally lacking empathy. Either is disturbing for a male lead in a romance.
Or we can believe something else...
As a writer, I found it interesting, but I would place it more in the literary, dark erotic genres. Despite the author's explanation to the contrary at the end of the book (which she was kind enough to provide, and I read) there is no HEA or HFN for the couple - there is one glaring plot hole. How is both Seb and Dylan visiting her on earth if the humans and the IGC didn't sign a treaty? Or are we to imagine that the work in question is totally a work of Ensley's fictional mind done strictly for monetary value and not to be trusted at all (which is a suggestion of the author). On a romance level either action negates a true HEA or HFN. Hmmmm. See what I mean by thought provoking?
I rated it three stars because I rarely find a book that made me deeply ponder the subjects the author puts forth. For me it gets points for being well-written, controversial, disturbing and thought provoking.
Like I said, this book is not for everyone. If you are wanting romance, it won't be for you at all. To me it was too realistic to be truly entertaining which is what I look for in the romance genre as a reader.
June 1, 2021
Die Geschichte war irgendwie nicht Fisch und nicht Fleisch. Weder richtig erotisch noch ein richtig Geschichte mit vernünftiger Handlung. Es war irgendwas dazwischen, aber das passte dann eben nicht. Ensly wird von Aliens entführt und wird dann an den Captain eines außerirdischen Raumschiffs verkauft. Dieser Alienrasse ist der Meinung, dass Menschen primitiv sind und man sie als Haustiere hält, dass man sie sexuell nutzen kann, ihre sexuellen Triebe aber trainieren muss. Sie galuben, dass Menschen nicht wirklich logisch denken könne, kaum ein Gedächtnis haben und von ihren Trieben gesteuert werden. Das alles wäre als Ansatz für die Story auch okay, nur ergab das Verhalten des Captains gerade am Anfang des Buches überhaupt keinen Sinn. Er vollzog eine Art Training, dass keinen wirklichen Sinn ergab bzw. das einem als Leser einfach nicht richtig erklärt wurde. Er stellte Enyly ständig zur Schau, betatschte sie und ließ sie von der ganzen Crew betatschen und bestrafte sie aber wenn sie versuchte sich verzweifelt irgendwie Erleichterung zu verschaffen. Der Umschwung von dieser totalen Verweigerung/Folterung zum kompletten 'Nutzen' seines 'Haustieres' war dann so abrupt und wurde überhaupt nicht logisch erklärt. So machte auch sein ganzes Verhalten davor keinen Sinn. Ich empfand daher die meiste Zeit des Buches eher Mitleid mit der Protagonistin. Gedämpft wurde das nur dadurch, dass Ensly ziemlich unsympathisch war und mir daher relativ egal war, was mit ihr passiert. Ensly war eine ziemliche Zicke und sehr ichbezogen. Die meiste Zeit empfand ich daher Frust, weil ich nicht verstand, was der Sinn hinter dem ganzen Verhalten des Captain sein soll. Bei einem Erotikbuch sind Frust und Mitleid jetzt nicht unbedingt die Stimmungen, die ich anstrebe. Die erotischen Szenen waren alle recht merkwürdig. Die Aliens hatten eine Vorliebe für Körperbehaarung und Exhibitionismus. Für beides hatte die Protagonistin aber gar nichts über und zeigte dies auch deutlich. Dafür wurde sie dann bestraft, anstatt das man darauf einging. Somit war das ganze nur einseitig erotisch. Ich mag Sklaven und Pet-Geschichten allerdings nur wenn das ganze schlussendlich dann beiden Parteien Spaß macht. Hier war das über weite Teile nicht der Fall. Das diente natürlich dazu, die besagte Story zu verpacken und diese gewollte Moral einzubauen, aber das passte für mich einfach alles nicht. Man kann diese moralischen Denkanstöße durchaus auch in erotischen Büchern geben, aber es muss anders verpackt sein, damit es für mich funktioniert. Hier wirkt alles viel zu aufgesetzt. Da kenne ich Bücher in denen das viel besser gelöst wurde. Für mich war das ganze hier daher eine Enttäuschung.
Story 2,0/5
Erotik 2,4/5
Charaktere 2,0/5
Schreibstil 2,0/5
Gesamt 2,0/5
Story 2,0/5
Erotik 2,4/5
Charaktere 2,0/5
Schreibstil 2,0/5
Gesamt 2,0/5
March 31, 2020
This novel was fairly well written and very well edited, with few if any typos that I caught in the ARC version of this manuscript. The world building of the Empire was fairly good. The characterization was excellent for an erotica, with both hero and heroine being sympathetic characters. There was a romantic relationship which developed between the hero and heroine of this novel, but the romantic relationship had a somewhat ambiguous ending. The plot and pacing was excellent, with me turning pages rapidly in order to find out what was going to happen next. There was a high amount of angst experienced by the heroine, but it was entirely understandable with her situation. The stakes are not very high in this novel until the end, when the hero is racing to get the heroine onto the only ship taking human pets back to Earth. However, I still enjoyed this erotica. This novel contains the Human Trafficking trope so popular is sci-fi romance and erotica. The characterization of this novel was five stars. The development of the romantic relationship rated two stars for my romance novel loving self. The world building rated four stars, and the plot and pacing also rated four stars. The combined score for this sci-fi erotica was therefore four stars. I recommend this novel to readers who enjoy well written sci-fi erotica with sympathetic protagonists. I will not be buying myself a keeper copy of this novel, simply because I prefer erotic romance novels to erotica.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
March 28, 2020
I found this a rather dry story and most of the characters felt pretty bland and one dimensional. The concept is ok but it was overall quite boring. The end felt very rushed like the author had suddenly found it had to be finished in only a few pages. Also there were quite a few spelling mistakes.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
November 16, 2020
Pet
Omg I loved this book and was in tears at end I have never had a book touch me in a way this one did it was so spelled out and so very well written and I can’t wait to read more this author
Omg I loved this book and was in tears at end I have never had a book touch me in a way this one did it was so spelled out and so very well written and I can’t wait to read more this author
March 22, 2021
Worst
This is one of the worst books I have ever read. I wish I could get back the time it took me to read this garbage. The author needs another line of work. I will never read another book penned by her.
This is one of the worst books I have ever read. I wish I could get back the time it took me to read this garbage. The author needs another line of work. I will never read another book penned by her.
September 3, 2024
Yeah so this book is very dark…. I think the problem here is it was sort of sold to me as a romance based on how I found it , and it is not at all romantic. Unlike many other books with a similar premise this one is very dark ,hopeless , sad and overall an interesting take on humanity. I felt very uncomfortable reading parts of it which may have been by design there was also a lot of strange side comments that were “ fat-phobic “ that never really went anywhere and just could have been left out. I think it was an interesting read not one I would recommend to many but if someone was interested in a darker alien story I would suggest it.
February 19, 2025
3.5 stars
This book surprised me. I thought it was basically alien smut but it had more to it. It delved fairly deep into some societal issues with some decent opposing sides dialogue. I wasn't expecting that. The timeline is fairly long for such a quick book. I did enjoy the writing though. I feel like it could have been more with the premise.
This book surprised me. I thought it was basically alien smut but it had more to it. It delved fairly deep into some societal issues with some decent opposing sides dialogue. I wasn't expecting that. The timeline is fairly long for such a quick book. I did enjoy the writing though. I feel like it could have been more with the premise.
February 25, 2025
This was a no for me. The only reason I kept reading is that this was the book club pick for the month.
This was an alien romance about Ensely being abducted and kept as a human pet. I understand this is a novella so maybe that is why she just accepted her fate, but I feel like she could have fought off her fate a bit more. This was not for me I am not interested in kidnapped romances with questionable romance scenes that are not for me
I would recommend if you enjoy a dark romance with some aliens
This was an alien romance about Ensely being abducted and kept as a human pet. I understand this is a novella so maybe that is why she just accepted her fate, but I feel like she could have fought off her fate a bit more. This was not for me I am not interested in kidnapped romances with questionable romance scenes that are not for me
I would recommend if you enjoy a dark romance with some aliens
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