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Susix Trilogy #1
Susix
Being abducted by aliens is terrifying. Everything after that? Pretty boring.
Cece Levine didn’t believe in aliens. That is, right up until she was abducted. Life in space is not what she expected. She lives in a cage. She's left alone all the time. And the boredom is driving her insane.
That is until a snake man sets her free, and she decides he is her best bet for getting off this crazy planet. Unfortunately, he and his crew think she's an exotic pet. It's not too bad. She's fed, can walk around, and can spy on her new shipmates. They’re actually pretty fun to be around. When pirates attack her new home, Cece realizes her new 'friends' might be more dangerous than she thought.
With a Crown on the line, Vesex Forthusis will take any advantage he can to keep his Nest ahead of the rest. And alive. Although, that might be asking for too much.
Vesex Forthusis has no desire to be the Sovereign of Susurex. However, he will fight to the death to become the leader of his planet if it means his people will stop starving and can have a chance to thrive. All he has to do is find the Crown of Versetti, one of his people’s most valuable artifacts, and deliver it back home. Too bad it was stolen eons ago, and every bloodthirsty Susix in the galaxy is trying to steal it.
He and his nestmates will need to use every dirty trick they have to survive the journey. What they do not need is a stray pet running around distracting everyone. But when their ship gets ambushed, it becomes obvious that there is much more to their new pet than they initially thought.
Will Cece and this misfit crew of snake men be able to work past their differences to survive an onslaught of aliens with murder on their minds?
Author’s This is a slow-burn, why choose series...and by slow-burn, I mean glacial. There’s not much spice in this book, but some situations are intended for a mature audience. The smut doesn't arrive until book two.
Cece Levine didn’t believe in aliens. That is, right up until she was abducted. Life in space is not what she expected. She lives in a cage. She's left alone all the time. And the boredom is driving her insane.
That is until a snake man sets her free, and she decides he is her best bet for getting off this crazy planet. Unfortunately, he and his crew think she's an exotic pet. It's not too bad. She's fed, can walk around, and can spy on her new shipmates. They’re actually pretty fun to be around. When pirates attack her new home, Cece realizes her new 'friends' might be more dangerous than she thought.
With a Crown on the line, Vesex Forthusis will take any advantage he can to keep his Nest ahead of the rest. And alive. Although, that might be asking for too much.
Vesex Forthusis has no desire to be the Sovereign of Susurex. However, he will fight to the death to become the leader of his planet if it means his people will stop starving and can have a chance to thrive. All he has to do is find the Crown of Versetti, one of his people’s most valuable artifacts, and deliver it back home. Too bad it was stolen eons ago, and every bloodthirsty Susix in the galaxy is trying to steal it.
He and his nestmates will need to use every dirty trick they have to survive the journey. What they do not need is a stray pet running around distracting everyone. But when their ship gets ambushed, it becomes obvious that there is much more to their new pet than they initially thought.
Will Cece and this misfit crew of snake men be able to work past their differences to survive an onslaught of aliens with murder on their minds?
Author’s This is a slow-burn, why choose series...and by slow-burn, I mean glacial. There’s not much spice in this book, but some situations are intended for a mature audience. The smut doesn't arrive until book two.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 22, 2022
184 people are currently reading
722 people want to read
About the author
Amelia Rademaker
6 books148 followersI am a writer from Seattle. Growing up in the woods listening to stories about ghosts, monsters and myths I learned to love the things that go bump in the night. I currently live in the South where there are a lot of haunted hunts to investigate. My overactive imagination makes for fun writing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
August 20, 2023
On second thought I’m bumping this up to five stars because it made me happy to read :)
So imagine you and your crew are on an intergalactic mission to recover an important historical artifact for your homeworld. While stealing said artifact you encounter a weird feral alien kitten in a cage. It helps you escape detection, so you free the alien animal as thanks. But it won’t stop following you around…so you take it onto your spaceship and keep it as a cute little pet.
That’s the setup of Susix, except the intergalactic mission crew is a group of snake-esque alien men (who are in a sort of gay polycule, I think?) and the feral pet is, in fact, a human woman recently abducted from Earth named Cece.
Cece has a pretty rough time at the start of the story, being abducted and then sold at a pet store, then kept in a cage as an ornamental pet in a treasure hoard. So when she meets the snake alien thief who frees her, she holds on tight and sticks with the snake aliens, even though they treat her like a wild animal.
This was pretty hilarious—Cece doesn’t even try to communicate the fact that she’s actually a sentient being. I might have tried to communicate through charades or drawing or something. There are plenty of ways I could think of to demonstrate sentience if I put my (sentient) mind to it. But Cece takes to her role as the crew pet easily. She lets the aliens pet her, begs for food scraps at the dinner table, and even lets them lead her around a space station on a leash.
To be fair, I am pretty burnt out all the time, so I can’t say for certain that I wouldn’t jump at the chance to nap all day while someone else solves the problems for once.
The plot is slow and character-focused, making for a cozy read with a cute, fluffy feel. Still, it was engaging enough that I blew through the book quickly and ended up annoyed that I couldn’t pick up book 2 right away (even though the next installment releases just five days from now).
The focus was more on the aliens and the relationships between them than on Cece. Her POV chapters felt like a conduit to describe the aliens more.
Quick warning that this is the slowest possible slowburn, i.e. there is ZERO romance in this book. (Which makes sense—the men think that Cece is a wild animal. Would be concerning if any of them tried to make a romantic move on a pet.) However the author has said that there will be a reverse harem/poly romance building in the future. I’m gonna hold her to that promise.
So imagine you and your crew are on an intergalactic mission to recover an important historical artifact for your homeworld. While stealing said artifact you encounter a weird feral alien kitten in a cage. It helps you escape detection, so you free the alien animal as thanks. But it won’t stop following you around…so you take it onto your spaceship and keep it as a cute little pet.
That’s the setup of Susix, except the intergalactic mission crew is a group of snake-esque alien men (who are in a sort of gay polycule, I think?) and the feral pet is, in fact, a human woman recently abducted from Earth named Cece.
Cece has a pretty rough time at the start of the story, being abducted and then sold at a pet store, then kept in a cage as an ornamental pet in a treasure hoard. So when she meets the snake alien thief who frees her, she holds on tight and sticks with the snake aliens, even though they treat her like a wild animal.
This was pretty hilarious—Cece doesn’t even try to communicate the fact that she’s actually a sentient being. I might have tried to communicate through charades or drawing or something. There are plenty of ways I could think of to demonstrate sentience if I put my (sentient) mind to it. But Cece takes to her role as the crew pet easily. She lets the aliens pet her, begs for food scraps at the dinner table, and even lets them lead her around a space station on a leash.
To be fair, I am pretty burnt out all the time, so I can’t say for certain that I wouldn’t jump at the chance to nap all day while someone else solves the problems for once.
The plot is slow and character-focused, making for a cozy read with a cute, fluffy feel. Still, it was engaging enough that I blew through the book quickly and ended up annoyed that I couldn’t pick up book 2 right away (even though the next installment releases just five days from now).
The focus was more on the aliens and the relationships between them than on Cece. Her POV chapters felt like a conduit to describe the aliens more.
Quick warning that this is the slowest possible slowburn, i.e. there is ZERO romance in this book. (Which makes sense—the men think that Cece is a wild animal. Would be concerning if any of them tried to make a romantic move on a pet.) However the author has said that there will be a reverse harem/poly romance building in the future. I’m gonna hold her to that promise.
January 19, 2024
Starting off by saying - this is definitely not for everyone so make sure you know what you're getting into before you start. Honestly, I'm surprised that I liked it, but this book was so freaking funny. I was laughing out loud. There are some heavy spoilers below so read at your own risk!
Plot
This is an alien reverse harem where the male main characters are basically these snake/humanoid creatures (I know, I know...but it's fine). The story begins when the female main character, Cece, is abducted by an alien spaceship from her backyard on Earth after she gets home from work one night. The aliens that abduct her are basically human/alien traffickers that abduct different beings from different planets and then sell them as pets around the universe. Cece (and the rest of earth) has no idea that aliens exist, so everything is completely shocking and new to her, and she is in shock/trying to survive. After days spent in cages with other various types of aliens who were also abducted, she is eventually sold to a royal king who keeps her imprisoned in a cell in his throne room.
One day a thief sneaks into the empty throne room, and while Cece is in her cage watching the thief walk around the throne room, he knocks over a vase, and all of the guards come running. Cece helps the mysterious thief avoid detection and helps him escape, so in return, he frees her from the cage. Once she is free, Cece follows the thief out of the castle, and continues to follow him because ya know, she's on a literal different planet with no idea where she is/what to do etc. During their trek through the woods, the thief repeatedly tries to shoo Cece (in a total White Fang moment), because he thinks that she is literally an animal, but she keeps following him. They both speak completely different languages with no idea what the other is saying. However, in a twist of fate, Cece then ends up saving the thief's life twice in the woods. To repay her for saving his life, the thief (who is really a snake-type humanoid creature) finally reunites with his "nest" (the 4 other male main characters) and announces to them that he's going to going to keep Cece as his pet.
This is where the story gets really funny. All 5 of the guys treat Cece as a pet--they call her "Hissy," pet her a lot, feed her scraps from the dinner table, cuddle with her/make her sit on their laps to pet her, and at one point, they make her wear a leash around a busy marketplace. Meanwhile, Cece's POV chapters are her just rolling with being their pet because they're treating her well, and she can't communicate with them, and what else are you gonna do at that point, right? Again, none of them have any idea what the other is saying. To the men, Cece just sounds like she's making animal noises. To Cece, all she hears is snake hisses between them. There is dialogue between the characters in the male main characters' POV chapters, and it's really funny listening to them discuss their new pet, "Hissy."
The story culminates in a great ending where Cece kicks absolute ass and saves all 5 guys.
Thoughts
This story really killed me. There's really no other story really like it that I've come across. I love Seethur and Hix, in particular. All of the characters are super distinct, and the story comes together in a clever way. I liked Cece a lot too. There are a few typos, and at times, there was a bit too much plot/description and not enough character interaction, but I still definitely enjoyed.
There is not much romance in this book, which makes sense because the guys all think Cece is literally an animal/treat her like a cute puppy. This series is definitely going to be super slow-burn, but this was a great set-up and totally unique from anything I've seen before. If you're OK with the occasional alien/monster/fantasy romance, then give this a try! It's a fun read.
Plot
This is an alien reverse harem where the male main characters are basically these snake/humanoid creatures (I know, I know...but it's fine). The story begins when the female main character, Cece, is abducted by an alien spaceship from her backyard on Earth after she gets home from work one night. The aliens that abduct her are basically human/alien traffickers that abduct different beings from different planets and then sell them as pets around the universe. Cece (and the rest of earth) has no idea that aliens exist, so everything is completely shocking and new to her, and she is in shock/trying to survive. After days spent in cages with other various types of aliens who were also abducted, she is eventually sold to a royal king who keeps her imprisoned in a cell in his throne room.
One day a thief sneaks into the empty throne room, and while Cece is in her cage watching the thief walk around the throne room, he knocks over a vase, and all of the guards come running. Cece helps the mysterious thief avoid detection and helps him escape, so in return, he frees her from the cage. Once she is free, Cece follows the thief out of the castle, and continues to follow him because ya know, she's on a literal different planet with no idea where she is/what to do etc. During their trek through the woods, the thief repeatedly tries to shoo Cece (in a total White Fang moment), because he thinks that she is literally an animal, but she keeps following him. They both speak completely different languages with no idea what the other is saying. However, in a twist of fate, Cece then ends up saving the thief's life twice in the woods. To repay her for saving his life, the thief (who is really a snake-type humanoid creature) finally reunites with his "nest" (the 4 other male main characters) and announces to them that he's going to going to keep Cece as his pet.
This is where the story gets really funny. All 5 of the guys treat Cece as a pet--they call her "Hissy," pet her a lot, feed her scraps from the dinner table, cuddle with her/make her sit on their laps to pet her, and at one point, they make her wear a leash around a busy marketplace. Meanwhile, Cece's POV chapters are her just rolling with being their pet because they're treating her well, and she can't communicate with them, and what else are you gonna do at that point, right? Again, none of them have any idea what the other is saying. To the men, Cece just sounds like she's making animal noises. To Cece, all she hears is snake hisses between them. There is dialogue between the characters in the male main characters' POV chapters, and it's really funny listening to them discuss their new pet, "Hissy."
The story culminates in a great ending where Cece kicks absolute ass and saves all 5 guys.
Thoughts
This story really killed me. There's really no other story really like it that I've come across. I love Seethur and Hix, in particular. All of the characters are super distinct, and the story comes together in a clever way. I liked Cece a lot too. There are a few typos, and at times, there was a bit too much plot/description and not enough character interaction, but I still definitely enjoyed.
There is not much romance in this book, which makes sense because the guys all think Cece is literally an animal/treat her like a cute puppy. This series is definitely going to be super slow-burn, but this was a great set-up and totally unique from anything I've seen before. If you're OK with the occasional alien/monster/fantasy romance, then give this a try! It's a fun read.
April 1, 2023
I don't give a lot of 5 star ratings. Chances are we've all read the alien abduction trope before. In RH, the aliens are usually looking for a wife/womb. That's not what this was, and that's probably why I loved it so much. The aliens the human MC ends up spending the most time with aren't the ones who abducted her, and the aliens just think a smart animal adopted them.
This harem is such a slow burn that this book can't even be called a romance, though we do see a few romantic moments between the male aliens, not involving the human MC. There's no insta love, lust, understanding, or anything. Every emotion in this book is earned. Each of the aliens has a distinct personality and manages to form unique (platonic) relationships with the MC even before they know she's sentient.
The book doesn't end on a cliffhanger in the sense that everyone is in imminent peril, but it did leave me hanging because we had finally gotten to the moment I'd been waiting for during most of the book. I honestly can't wait for book 2. This book would make a great movie.
With all that being said, I do want to point out that there were several editing issues. At times, it looked as if the author wrote the book using a talk-to-text feature that mixed up words that sound the same (led v. lead, ridged v. rigid, helpful v. hopeful, diluting v. deluding, saddled v. sidled, etc.). I enjoyed the book enough that those issues were only minor distractions, but I hope the issues are resolved in book 2.
This harem is such a slow burn that this book can't even be called a romance, though we do see a few romantic moments between the male aliens, not involving the human MC. There's no insta love, lust, understanding, or anything. Every emotion in this book is earned. Each of the aliens has a distinct personality and manages to form unique (platonic) relationships with the MC even before they know she's sentient.
The book doesn't end on a cliffhanger in the sense that everyone is in imminent peril, but it did leave me hanging because we had finally gotten to the moment I'd been waiting for during most of the book. I honestly can't wait for book 2. This book would make a great movie.
With all that being said, I do want to point out that there were several editing issues. At times, it looked as if the author wrote the book using a talk-to-text feature that mixed up words that sound the same (led v. lead, ridged v. rigid, helpful v. hopeful, diluting v. deluding, saddled v. sidled, etc.). I enjoyed the book enough that those issues were only minor distractions, but I hope the issues are resolved in book 2.
July 20, 2023
Dammit ... Why did I think this was a standalone? I guess I have no choice but to wait for August 25th.
I'm not sure why I find these "mistaken for a pet" books so intriguing, but here we are. I'm sure I could go back through this book and pick out instances where it was obvious CeCe was a sentient being, but I won't because I didn't go into this book expecting complete believability. I went into this read hoping for an enjoyable escape from reality and that is exactly what I got.
Slight spoilers below:
*Don't go into this first book expecting any type of romance because there is none. The book ends with the revelation that she may be more than just a pet.
I'm not sure why I find these "mistaken for a pet" books so intriguing, but here we are. I'm sure I could go back through this book and pick out instances where it was obvious CeCe was a sentient being, but I won't because I didn't go into this book expecting complete believability. I went into this read hoping for an enjoyable escape from reality and that is exactly what I got.
Slight spoilers below:
*Don't go into this first book expecting any type of romance because there is none. The book ends with the revelation that she may be more than just a pet.
August 28, 2023
I finished this & started book 2 instead of sleeping, so ... yeah.
April 23, 2023
I had no expectations entering this book and I think that was a good thing, since this book wouldn't have met any of them. It's slow, it's a bit confusing and doesn't actually get anywhere when it comes to the expected romance. That being said... I really liked it! I liked it so much that when I finished the book at midnight last night I immediately went to try and buy the next book, only to curse when I realized that it isn't out yet. Let me try to explain why... (spoilers ahead).
This book takes a different route than most alien kidnapping books. The FMC is captured to be a pet and ends up through a series of events on a ship with a bunch of snake aliens. What I really like here, is that the author took the time to develop the FMC's relationship with her new world and with her alien 'owners'. Unlike in Loving Captivity (which was terrible by the way), Rademaker does not make any of the MMC aliens sexually interested in the FMC while the is still a pet and not considered sentient (Thank f*ck). While the FMC does describe the MMCs as attractive it is sort of a general 'ooh pretty!' rather than insta-lusty, which I really appreciate. While this book really takes the time to develop each character in a non-sexual way, which I really *really* appreciated, I will say that I had a bit of trouble keeping track of which MMC was which since some had similar names.
I'm sure some readers have complained about the slow pace of the book and while I can't deny that the pace is absolutely glacial, there is a really great pay off in the end. Over the course of the book the FMC slowly learns how the alien space ship works just through everyday life and all of the knowledge comes together when she saves her aliens at the end of the book. The FMC uses all of the knowledge she gained previously to defeat the baddies and I really liked how well thought through and smart the whole thing was.
Overall this was a really great start to an interesting series and I am looking forward to reading more. I would highly recommend this book if you enjoy more slow-burn, slice of [alien] life type books. If you want hardcore alien tentacle smut, you aren't going to get that here.
This book takes a different route than most alien kidnapping books. The FMC is captured to be a pet and ends up through a series of events on a ship with a bunch of snake aliens. What I really like here, is that the author took the time to develop the FMC's relationship with her new world and with her alien 'owners'. Unlike in Loving Captivity (which was terrible by the way), Rademaker does not make any of the MMC aliens sexually interested in the FMC while the is still a pet and not considered sentient (Thank f*ck). While the FMC does describe the MMCs as attractive it is sort of a general 'ooh pretty!' rather than insta-lusty, which I really appreciate. While this book really takes the time to develop each character in a non-sexual way, which I really *really* appreciated, I will say that I had a bit of trouble keeping track of which MMC was which since some had similar names.
I'm sure some readers have complained about the slow pace of the book and while I can't deny that the pace is absolutely glacial, there is a really great pay off in the end. Over the course of the book the FMC slowly learns how the alien space ship works just through everyday life and all of the knowledge comes together when she saves her aliens at the end of the book. The FMC uses all of the knowledge she gained previously to defeat the baddies and I really liked how well thought through and smart the whole thing was.
Overall this was a really great start to an interesting series and I am looking forward to reading more. I would highly recommend this book if you enjoy more slow-burn, slice of [alien] life type books. If you want hardcore alien tentacle smut, you aren't going to get that here.
August 26, 2023
I know this book need a really good review, but I just can't write a proper review.
I will recommend this book any chance I get and even though I normally avoid SIFI romances, I really loved this one and it will for sure end up in my #SIFIRomanceHallOfFame.
Instead of writing my own review, I recommend one from my gr friend Helen. I enjoy reading her reviews and look forward to anything she reviews too. Thanks Helen!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I will recommend this book any chance I get and even though I normally avoid SIFI romances, I really loved this one and it will for sure end up in my #SIFIRomanceHallOfFame.
Instead of writing my own review, I recommend one from my gr friend Helen. I enjoy reading her reviews and look forward to anything she reviews too. Thanks Helen!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
August 19, 2023
Plot? LOVED IT
Characters? LOVED THEM
World-Building? Not a whole lot but what was there, loved it!
Is this a romance? No!
Goodreads has this marked as "Science Fiction, Reverse Harem, Aliens, Pirates, Romance, Space Opera, Science Fiction Romance." Reverse Harem (or more likely, poly) could be endgame but it's not in this book. That is fine with me but I realize for some folks they'd be really disappointed. This is first and foremost a sci fi story. There is romance and 'fade to black' sex happening in the book but none of it is with the female human character.
Over time, the reader and our female lead, Cece, gets to know each of the five main reptilian aliens. The reader has the advantage of the male alien POVs so we know a lot more about them than her. Nevertheless, Cece comes to care for them to some degree but being treated like an animal comes with a built in barrier in addition to the language and cultural barriers one would expect when faced with an unknown alien race. The alien crew is intentional in their efforts at keeping their "pet" from getting into things and don't bother giving her any opportunities to learn or really do anything. To be honest, I think my cats may have more freedom and enrichment opportunities than poor Cece does.
The "how do they not realize the human is sentient and not a pet" is sometimes frustrating. At times, the excuse or reasoning makes sense (e.g. some pets are put into clothes, some make noises or can repeat phrases, some can be trained to use a toilet) while others left me squinting at the characters as they brush off behaviors that should have had them questioning things. That said, it was well-written, mostly fun, and sometimes even funny.
I enjoyed it heartily and was super eager to immediately download the next book only to realize it's not out yet. Now I am dying because I have to know what happens next. I was ready to start reading it now, at midnight, and stay awake all night. That's how badly I want to read it right now. I have to somehow find a way to survive A WHOLE WEEK until book two is released!
Characters? LOVED THEM
World-Building? Not a whole lot but what was there, loved it!
Is this a romance? No!
Goodreads has this marked as "Science Fiction, Reverse Harem, Aliens, Pirates, Romance, Space Opera, Science Fiction Romance." Reverse Harem (or more likely, poly) could be endgame but it's not in this book. That is fine with me but I realize for some folks they'd be really disappointed. This is first and foremost a sci fi story. There is romance and 'fade to black' sex happening in the book but none of it is with the female human character.
Over time, the reader and our female lead, Cece, gets to know each of the five main reptilian aliens. The reader has the advantage of the male alien POVs so we know a lot more about them than her. Nevertheless, Cece comes to care for them to some degree but being treated like an animal comes with a built in barrier in addition to the language and cultural barriers one would expect when faced with an unknown alien race. The alien crew is intentional in their efforts at keeping their "pet" from getting into things and don't bother giving her any opportunities to learn or really do anything. To be honest, I think my cats may have more freedom and enrichment opportunities than poor Cece does.
The "how do they not realize the human is sentient and not a pet" is sometimes frustrating. At times, the excuse or reasoning makes sense (e.g. some pets are put into clothes, some make noises or can repeat phrases, some can be trained to use a toilet) while others left me squinting at the characters as they brush off behaviors that should have had them questioning things. That said, it was well-written, mostly fun, and sometimes even funny.
I enjoyed it heartily and was super eager to immediately download the next book only to realize it's not out yet. Now I am dying because I have to know what happens next. I was ready to start reading it now, at midnight, and stay awake all night. That's how badly I want to read it right now. I have to somehow find a way to survive A WHOLE WEEK until book two is released!
March 15, 2023
Bromance not Romance
So if you think this is an alien romance... It's Not. The only goody grabbing going on is between two males and even thats under the covers. If you think this is Sci-Fi...it's not, the writer obviously doesn't know how gravity works or ANY technical terms for anything mechanical. Cece is a moron that doesn't make any effort after the first five minutes to converse with anyone but herself. She's on their ship for weeks and just goes along, dum Dee dum. Truly TSTL. The male snakey guys remind me of the queer-eye guys but without the personality. Unfortunately I Paid for this stupid book so I made myself finish it even as my IQ plummeted. Do yourself a favor "Just say No"
So if you think this is an alien romance... It's Not. The only goody grabbing going on is between two males and even thats under the covers. If you think this is Sci-Fi...it's not, the writer obviously doesn't know how gravity works or ANY technical terms for anything mechanical. Cece is a moron that doesn't make any effort after the first five minutes to converse with anyone but herself. She's on their ship for weeks and just goes along, dum Dee dum. Truly TSTL. The male snakey guys remind me of the queer-eye guys but without the personality. Unfortunately I Paid for this stupid book so I made myself finish it even as my IQ plummeted. Do yourself a favor "Just say No"
May 25, 2025
I didn't know I needed a book about a gay polycule of snakelike aliens adopting a pet human in my life. Why was it so charming?
October 15, 2024
This was exactly the escape I needed this week. I can't even remember who put it on my timeline a few days ago bc they had just finished it, but I'm grateful because it was a fun read.
It's a slow burn (like nothing at all happens with the FMC this book bc they all think she's a pet), so don't expect much on the romance front yet. However, it was a rush getting to see things from both sides: the FMC, who realizes these alien dudes think she's a pet and decides to just roll with it, and then the alien dudes who think their new pet is so adorable and surprisingly smart. Lol
It's also so understatedly funny at parts. I laughed so hard when one MMC made an offhand comment about leaving Hissy (the name they gave their new "pet") to play with a towel while he was busy doing something else.
And we're just along for this ride while the FMC studies these aliens who bring her into their lives, learning bits and pieces of what's going on, right up until everything she's learned becomes absolutely vital.
I can't wait to read the next book. I'm just sad that I started this now when the third/final book doesn't come out for another month. I cry 😭
With that said, I'm giving these aliens some serious side-eye for not realizing she wasn't a pet. The aliens themselves are humanoid-looking but with scales, tails, and a few facial differences. Some of them are also the same size as her. Having been to many planets and knowing there are all types of beings out there, WHYYYYYYYY did they keep thinking she was a pet even when she was acting so much like them?
She was talking (sure, in a different language), covering for one of them to keep him from being caught, swimming to save one from drowning, flushing a toilet (though they did say most pets in their world are trained to do that), opening doors/using their door control panels, was wearing clothes like they did, tying towels together to make new clothes, etc. And on top of all of that, when they very first came across her and the one alien they had been looking for, their first accusation when they saw them was that the alien was shirking his duties just to sleep around with her, which tells me that even with one glance, she didn't look like a pet to them. I had to suspend disbelief a LOT on that from to make this storyline work, but I did it happily because the story was so fun.
It's a slow burn (like nothing at all happens with the FMC this book bc they all think she's a pet), so don't expect much on the romance front yet. However, it was a rush getting to see things from both sides: the FMC, who realizes these alien dudes think she's a pet and decides to just roll with it, and then the alien dudes who think their new pet is so adorable and surprisingly smart. Lol
It's also so understatedly funny at parts. I laughed so hard when one MMC made an offhand comment about leaving Hissy (the name they gave their new "pet") to play with a towel while he was busy doing something else.
And we're just along for this ride while the FMC studies these aliens who bring her into their lives, learning bits and pieces of what's going on, right up until everything she's learned becomes absolutely vital.
I can't wait to read the next book. I'm just sad that I started this now when the third/final book doesn't come out for another month. I cry 😭
With that said, I'm giving these aliens some serious side-eye for not realizing she wasn't a pet. The aliens themselves are humanoid-looking but with scales, tails, and a few facial differences. Some of them are also the same size as her. Having been to many planets and knowing there are all types of beings out there, WHYYYYYYYY did they keep thinking she was a pet even when she was acting so much like them?
She was talking (sure, in a different language), covering for one of them to keep him from being caught, swimming to save one from drowning, flushing a toilet (though they did say most pets in their world are trained to do that), opening doors/using their door control panels, was wearing clothes like they did, tying towels together to make new clothes, etc. And on top of all of that, when they very first came across her and the one alien they had been looking for, their first accusation when they saw them was that the alien was shirking his duties just to sleep around with her, which tells me that even with one glance, she didn't look like a pet to them. I had to suspend disbelief a LOT on that from to make this storyline work, but I did it happily because the story was so fun.
August 22, 2023
4 stars
This was fun! It felt a bit draggy in places, but over all, it was an enjoyable read. It was great reading "pet" story that didn't focus around domination, but misunderstandings instead.
This was fun! It felt a bit draggy in places, but over all, it was an enjoyable read. It was great reading "pet" story that didn't focus around domination, but misunderstandings instead.
September 22, 2024
It was… something😅
Five aliens and a human girl. They thought she was a pet animal! 😂 I loved the plot—it was unique. Not much happens, but it’s just fun watching these big alien dudes treat our FMC like a cat😅
I didn’t know it was a poly romance; I thought it was reverse harem. But there was the slowest of slow burns, so it didn’t bother me as much🔥
Overall, a quick fun read😊
Five aliens and a human girl. They thought she was a pet animal! 😂 I loved the plot—it was unique. Not much happens, but it’s just fun watching these big alien dudes treat our FMC like a cat😅
I didn’t know it was a poly romance; I thought it was reverse harem. But there was the slowest of slow burns, so it didn’t bother me as much🔥
Overall, a quick fun read😊
July 26, 2023
Dam it!!!
I accidently read this book, and the next one isn't out yet. I LOVED IT! While the romance is slow, i just love everything about it. The plot is great, and the characters are awesome!! I can't wait until the next book is out (25th august 2023)
HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
I accidently read this book, and the next one isn't out yet. I LOVED IT! While the romance is slow, i just love everything about it. The plot is great, and the characters are awesome!! I can't wait until the next book is out (25th august 2023)
HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
September 19, 2023
Love 5 star books. So few and far between.
August 18, 2023
interesting
Definitely different than I’m used to. There was no romance in book 1 but I was fine with that given the circumstances. I really loved the world building and character development.
Definitely different than I’m used to. There was no romance in book 1 but I was fine with that given the circumstances. I really loved the world building and character development.
February 25, 2023
Call me Hissy
Cece was just trying to sleep when her dogs went bonkers. Racing out to the yard she sees one of them levitating in a beam of light. She managed to save the dog, but got grabbed herself instead. Now she's in a cage with some very not from Earth creatures. But as bad as that was it was worse when these technicolored wookie things took her away. Now she's alone in a cage, no company at all. Until this snake alien pops into the room to take something. She covers for him, gets shocked like the bad pet they think she is, and then the new alien comes back to free her. Yeah, she'll pretend to be a pet if it gets her out of that damned cage.
Spoilers ahead.
So, I usually avoid these humans as pets books. They just come off weird, awkward and, all too often, just really creepy. This one had good reviews and not a single mention of the owner being turned on by what they thought was an animal. So I gave it a try. I'm glad I did. This was very well done. We see all the POVs. We see her trying to figure out how to survive in these new circumstances. We see them make casual assumptions but still do their best to take care of her. They didn't expect the 1 to bring her back but they didn't treat her like an inconvenience, either. They give her medical treatment, ensure she's fed, try to keep her active and provide enrichment. For a pet, sure, but they're trying. And when the clues start adding up the lightbulbs start going off. The blurb is right, there's not a single instance of heat here. Currently they're all trying to complete a mission and stay alive. There's next to no communication between human and aliens until the last page. But that doesn't mean it's boring at all. No huge time skips. We see all the interactions, conversations and monologues. We see the humor and frustration. And it just keeps building it the story. My only issue was, when she realized they were actually going to be kind to her, why didn't she try even basic communication? Pointing at herself and saying her name is a big clue of sentience. Maybe singing, humming, pointing at objects and saying her words would have helped that angle along faster. But even with the delayed realization it was still a well planned out book. And now that they can begin to communicate for real, I imagine book 2 is going to hit the ground running.
Cece was just trying to sleep when her dogs went bonkers. Racing out to the yard she sees one of them levitating in a beam of light. She managed to save the dog, but got grabbed herself instead. Now she's in a cage with some very not from Earth creatures. But as bad as that was it was worse when these technicolored wookie things took her away. Now she's alone in a cage, no company at all. Until this snake alien pops into the room to take something. She covers for him, gets shocked like the bad pet they think she is, and then the new alien comes back to free her. Yeah, she'll pretend to be a pet if it gets her out of that damned cage.
Spoilers ahead.
So, I usually avoid these humans as pets books. They just come off weird, awkward and, all too often, just really creepy. This one had good reviews and not a single mention of the owner being turned on by what they thought was an animal. So I gave it a try. I'm glad I did. This was very well done. We see all the POVs. We see her trying to figure out how to survive in these new circumstances. We see them make casual assumptions but still do their best to take care of her. They didn't expect the 1 to bring her back but they didn't treat her like an inconvenience, either. They give her medical treatment, ensure she's fed, try to keep her active and provide enrichment. For a pet, sure, but they're trying. And when the clues start adding up the lightbulbs start going off. The blurb is right, there's not a single instance of heat here. Currently they're all trying to complete a mission and stay alive. There's next to no communication between human and aliens until the last page. But that doesn't mean it's boring at all. No huge time skips. We see all the interactions, conversations and monologues. We see the humor and frustration. And it just keeps building it the story. My only issue was, when she realized they were actually going to be kind to her, why didn't she try even basic communication? Pointing at herself and saying her name is a big clue of sentience. Maybe singing, humming, pointing at objects and saying her words would have helped that angle along faster. But even with the delayed realization it was still a well planned out book. And now that they can begin to communicate for real, I imagine book 2 is going to hit the ground running.
June 19, 2024
The premise and plot of this book were really good. I loved the focus on just telling the story and not rushing into the romance. This would have been a fantastic read except the editing really let it down. I understand some mistakes will slip through, but the number in this book was truly excessive, to the point of being distracting. So many inconsistent tenses, inconsistent pronouns, words being replaced by other similarly-spelled words (e.g. intent instead of indent), missing words, extra/repeated words. None of that even covers the times that the phrasing was just awkward or repetitive.
And for the love of god, how can you base the entire premise around the word "sentient" and not understand what it means 🤦♀️ animals are still sentient, the word she was looking for is "intelligent". I cannot believe multiple people read this book and no one picked up on it, it drove me out of my mind.
I really liked the relationships between the MMCs and am excited to see how they develop with the FMC in the next book.
And for the love of god, how can you base the entire premise around the word "sentient" and not understand what it means 🤦♀️ animals are still sentient, the word she was looking for is "intelligent". I cannot believe multiple people read this book and no one picked up on it, it drove me out of my mind.
I really liked the relationships between the MMCs and am excited to see how they develop with the FMC in the next book.
November 16, 2023
This was not what I expected! A very, very slow burn in which the mmcs do not know that the fmc is sentient until the very last moment of the book. I enjoyed this because it felt very slice of life. There was a language barrier for the whole book(my favorite trope) but since the mmcs believed the fmc was an animal, there were no attempts to remedy that until the end. At times it felt a little silly because how could they not know? I tried to consider animals like monkeys or parrots maybe, who can solve simple puzzles and make gestures and maybe even communicate. Very smart animals. The fmc didn't really try to convince the mmcs that she was human at all, even after she had grown close/friendly with them as their pet. I could understand if she was scared or in danger but these aliens were really kind and nice to her.
I would have loved to see more world building. At times I was confused about the relationship between the males. They call themselves nestmates. Some of them have a sexual relationship and some of them are just close. I had a hard time visualizing the hierarchy I guess. One of the MMCs was a prime, but what is that? A king? Just the leader of a family? And where did these aliens come from? What is their home like? Are women treasured there? Is it a matriarchal society? Do they even have women? Etc. I just wanted more information about their society and culture in general! We get some info about the crown and taking over power etc but it was too vague for my liking(also I am sick with strep throat so my brain isn't fully functioning so maybe I just missed some of this stuff!)
3 stars on my scale means I liked/enjoyed this book. I plan on reading the next book because I'm curious how they will transition from the relationship they currently have(between pet and owners) to a sexual relationship(ive heard this turns into a reverse harem). I really want to see where this goes!
I would have loved to see more world building. At times I was confused about the relationship between the males. They call themselves nestmates. Some of them have a sexual relationship and some of them are just close. I had a hard time visualizing the hierarchy I guess. One of the MMCs was a prime, but what is that? A king? Just the leader of a family? And where did these aliens come from? What is their home like? Are women treasured there? Is it a matriarchal society? Do they even have women? Etc. I just wanted more information about their society and culture in general! We get some info about the crown and taking over power etc but it was too vague for my liking(also I am sick with strep throat so my brain isn't fully functioning so maybe I just missed some of this stuff!)
3 stars on my scale means I liked/enjoyed this book. I plan on reading the next book because I'm curious how they will transition from the relationship they currently have(between pet and owners) to a sexual relationship(ive heard this turns into a reverse harem). I really want to see where this goes!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2024
I absolutely loved these first 2 books but I'm super pissed at myself for not checking if the third was out I just saw the cover in the "books" section on ku and assumed it was out but it's like they don't assume anything cuz it makes a ass out of you and me. But really just me😪😂. November 1st can't come fast enough😫.
September 8, 2023
amazing so amazing
So book 2 will have your romancing but book one was vital to not have it. You had to have the evolution of them looking at the human as a sentient being.
It was amazing
So book 2 will have your romancing but book one was vital to not have it. You had to have the evolution of them looking at the human as a sentient being.
It was amazing
October 28, 2025
3.5 but that isn't an option -- editors need to take a second look bc some of the punctuation is atrocious 😭
July 16, 2023
Damn cliffhangers!! 😫 And it was just about to get really good! The story is a bit slow, but still held my attention. This is definitely a two or three part story. She’s a pet for the entire book and they don’t learn she’s sentient until the end. So don’t read this if you’re looking for insta love or spice. Though I desperately hope we get spice in book two (really fascinating anatomy involved). Also, fair warning that this book contains mm content.
Initially I thought things moved too slow, but by the end I was fully invested and will be impatiently waiting for book two next month. I like the characters.
I did have to suspend my disbelief on one thing though. This might be a problem for people who like more realism in their stories. She didn’t do anything to let them know she was intelligent. And much of what she did do should have given the guys a strong hint. But, everyone just went along with the status quo. I guess she might not have tried to let them know because she figured she was safe and cared for as long as they thought her a pet, and her situation with these guys was infinitely better than it had been in the zoo and in the private collection.
Initially I thought things moved too slow, but by the end I was fully invested and will be impatiently waiting for book two next month. I like the characters.
I did have to suspend my disbelief on one thing though. This might be a problem for people who like more realism in their stories. She didn’t do anything to let them know she was intelligent. And much of what she did do should have given the guys a strong hint. But, everyone just went along with the status quo. I guess she might not have tried to let them know because she figured she was safe and cared for as long as they thought her a pet, and her situation with these guys was infinitely better than it had been in the zoo and in the private collection.
April 5, 2025
I decided to write a review because the author said she reads them all. At least I know this won’t go completely into the void 😊.
Overall I enjoyed this work. This is my first Reverse Harem and I thought the author did a great job of making each character a distinct person…at least in the beginning. If I were to give a rating at the <50% point, it would have been an easy 4.5 stars. 4.5 stars for what it is: an easy, slow slow slow burn romance (eventually?) that was entertaining and didn’t make me think too hard. There weren’t any blaring inconsistencies or just dumb stuff that tends to happen in alien/space travel romance. However, that all changed around the 60% point.
Overall I enjoyed this work. This is my first Reverse Harem and I thought the author did a great job of making each character a distinct person…at least in the beginning. If I were to give a rating at the <50% point, it would have been an easy 4.5 stars. 4.5 stars for what it is: an easy, slow slow slow burn romance (eventually?) that was entertaining and didn’t make me think too hard. There weren’t any blaring inconsistencies or just dumb stuff that tends to happen in alien/space travel romance. However, that all changed around the 60% point.
June 26, 2024
This book was everything I needed for a brief escape of reality, the world building is excellent but for the most part the characterization and relationship building between the fmc and the men is phenomenal. I have a secret (okay err) , well not really a secret but I love me a good slow burn. Books that mimic the pacing of almost real relationships do it for me almost every time and my god this burn is languid and perfect and well thought out and so incredibly worth the wait
Not going to lie, majority of this book the men believe the fmc to be a some kind of highly intellectual pet, but gosh does it make for funny moments with her and the guys. This book is more on the poly side of RH as most of the men are in relationships with one another but I wasn’t bothered by it at all. I only get jealous when the fmc isn’t loved as much as the men and as they are just starting to get to know one another it didn’t bother me at all.
Each guy has a unique personality, and I love that NONE of them are carbon copies of one another: in looks and personality. As a person who has already read the 2nd book I want to say I adore all the men at this moment , however I do remember favoring Seph, Huzzar, and Seethur in this particular one. I especially loved the fmc and how she would get so tired of Huzzar’s antics.
I feel like I never got to reviewing this book because I literally sprinted to the next one. But here I am now telling people to give this a read, because you won’t regret it
MM
No ow (so far, no offense but thank goodness for that)
No virgin trope for any of the characters.
Not going to lie, majority of this book the men believe the fmc to be a some kind of highly intellectual pet, but gosh does it make for funny moments with her and the guys. This book is more on the poly side of RH as most of the men are in relationships with one another but I wasn’t bothered by it at all. I only get jealous when the fmc isn’t loved as much as the men and as they are just starting to get to know one another it didn’t bother me at all.
Each guy has a unique personality, and I love that NONE of them are carbon copies of one another: in looks and personality. As a person who has already read the 2nd book I want to say I adore all the men at this moment , however I do remember favoring Seph, Huzzar, and Seethur in this particular one. I especially loved the fmc and how she would get so tired of Huzzar’s antics.
I feel like I never got to reviewing this book because I literally sprinted to the next one. But here I am now telling people to give this a read, because you won’t regret it
MM
No ow (so far, no offense but thank goodness for that)
No virgin trope for any of the characters.
October 15, 2023
DNF
I didn't get very far into this book at all. The writing was so difficult to read. Choppy and factual, with about 10X as many commas as needed, it was just too much for me right now.
I'll possibly try this book again in the future when I have the patience for lower level writing, but not right now.
I didn't get very far into this book at all. The writing was so difficult to read. Choppy and factual, with about 10X as many commas as needed, it was just too much for me right now.
I'll possibly try this book again in the future when I have the patience for lower level writing, but not right now.
September 15, 2023
5 cannot-believe-my-luck-at-stumbling-upon-this-series stars. Holy cow.
I'll be honest: when I first picked up this book, I wasn't sure about it. The reviews were encouraging, and I've been on a streak of surprisingly good reads for once, so I figured it was as good a time as any to take a chance on a KU book with a very obviously photoshopped cover and an author I'd never heard of before. Past experience has taught me to expect the worst in these circumstances, and as I opened this book up and started reading the first few pages of this story... I have to admit, I was close to slamming the 'back' button on my kindle and ducking out before I ruined my good-book streak. I'm so, so glad I didn't!
The writing style, especially in the very beginning when there aren't any characters or plot points to be invested in, is painfully choppy. The sentences are short, fragments abound, and there's little variation in sentence structure as the main character narrates very mundane activities in a somewhat monotonous play-by-play. I could see that the author was introducing details that would give the character personality, but the complete lack of flow from sentence to sentence was killing me, making everything feel overwhelmingly tell with no show. I was so freakin close to DNF'ing this book...
But then the plot hit, and suddenly our MC found herself abducted and in space, and I don't know what kind of mystical magic Amelia Rademaker wields, but I went from a couple of seconds away from DNF'ing this to rabidly devouring it in one sitting. I don't actually think the writing style changed all that much -- maybe there was a slight increase in variation of sentence structure, I'm not sure -- but once things got rolling, it was impossible to notice. The plot and characters came out swinging, and they more than made up for the rocky start. If you read the summary, then you'll know the general outline of what you're getting into here, but still, Rademaker makes every single second of this story interesting from start to finish. The level of detail is perfect. The pacing is perfect. The characters are perfect... And can we talk for a second about how utterly refreshing it is to have a heroine who can be a badass when necessary without being constantly standoffish and abrasive as all hell? Our MC, Cece, is strong but willing to acknowledge her weaknesses, she panics appropriately but then pulls herself together after a few seconds and moves on, and she is understanding, nonjudgmental, and forgiving without being a pushover. She accepts apologies and can look at a situation rationally enough to realize why someone might be reacting the way they are, and that means so many needlessly dramatic misunderstandings are skipped entirely. Every conflict that the plot introduces is actually valuable, not gratuitous. Cece is relatable in a way most heroines are not, and the rest of the cast of characters we meet are personable and amusing as well. Everyone feels like a unique character, and they all have different relationships with one another, though I have to admit it did take me probably 75% of the book to feel pretty confident I was keeping all of the male characters straight. (The names were just sliiiiightly too similar for my brain to handle at first, but I actually think this was an intentional choice that makes complete sense for a new alien species and culture, where the sounds of their names might match the more common sounds in the language they speak, so I cannot stress enough how much this is not a complaint on my end!)
Anyway. If you're thinking about picking this book up, it's important to know that for this first entry in the series, there's no romance between the MC/heroine and any of the male love interests, though there is some background romance between those male characters. It's literally the very, very end of the book that the guys figure out Cece is not just a pet but a self-aware, highly sentient and intelligent being, so the complete lack of a romance on that front is to be expected. There are lighthearted and amusing moments throughout, but one of the things I absolutely loved about this book was that it didn't stoop to playing up absurd extremes; this isn't a crackfic where ridiculous hijinks are the norm just because the main character is mistaken for a less-intelligent pet species -- this is a fully fleshed out story. Aaaand we'll get to Reverse Harem (no love triangle!) aspect starting in the next book, don't worry.
If you're on the fence and still undecided: take the plunge, push past the opening pages, and hopefully you'll end up sucked in and as suddenly invested as I was!
I'll be honest: when I first picked up this book, I wasn't sure about it. The reviews were encouraging, and I've been on a streak of surprisingly good reads for once, so I figured it was as good a time as any to take a chance on a KU book with a very obviously photoshopped cover and an author I'd never heard of before. Past experience has taught me to expect the worst in these circumstances, and as I opened this book up and started reading the first few pages of this story... I have to admit, I was close to slamming the 'back' button on my kindle and ducking out before I ruined my good-book streak. I'm so, so glad I didn't!
The writing style, especially in the very beginning when there aren't any characters or plot points to be invested in, is painfully choppy. The sentences are short, fragments abound, and there's little variation in sentence structure as the main character narrates very mundane activities in a somewhat monotonous play-by-play. I could see that the author was introducing details that would give the character personality, but the complete lack of flow from sentence to sentence was killing me, making everything feel overwhelmingly tell with no show. I was so freakin close to DNF'ing this book...
But then the plot hit, and suddenly our MC found herself abducted and in space, and I don't know what kind of mystical magic Amelia Rademaker wields, but I went from a couple of seconds away from DNF'ing this to rabidly devouring it in one sitting. I don't actually think the writing style changed all that much -- maybe there was a slight increase in variation of sentence structure, I'm not sure -- but once things got rolling, it was impossible to notice. The plot and characters came out swinging, and they more than made up for the rocky start. If you read the summary, then you'll know the general outline of what you're getting into here, but still, Rademaker makes every single second of this story interesting from start to finish. The level of detail is perfect. The pacing is perfect. The characters are perfect... And can we talk for a second about how utterly refreshing it is to have a heroine who can be a badass when necessary without being constantly standoffish and abrasive as all hell? Our MC, Cece, is strong but willing to acknowledge her weaknesses, she panics appropriately but then pulls herself together after a few seconds and moves on, and she is understanding, nonjudgmental, and forgiving without being a pushover. She accepts apologies and can look at a situation rationally enough to realize why someone might be reacting the way they are, and that means so many needlessly dramatic misunderstandings are skipped entirely. Every conflict that the plot introduces is actually valuable, not gratuitous. Cece is relatable in a way most heroines are not, and the rest of the cast of characters we meet are personable and amusing as well. Everyone feels like a unique character, and they all have different relationships with one another, though I have to admit it did take me probably 75% of the book to feel pretty confident I was keeping all of the male characters straight. (The names were just sliiiiightly too similar for my brain to handle at first, but I actually think this was an intentional choice that makes complete sense for a new alien species and culture, where the sounds of their names might match the more common sounds in the language they speak, so I cannot stress enough how much this is not a complaint on my end!)
Anyway. If you're thinking about picking this book up, it's important to know that for this first entry in the series, there's no romance between the MC/heroine and any of the male love interests, though there is some background romance between those male characters. It's literally the very, very end of the book that the guys figure out Cece is not just a pet but a self-aware, highly sentient and intelligent being, so the complete lack of a romance on that front is to be expected. There are lighthearted and amusing moments throughout, but one of the things I absolutely loved about this book was that it didn't stoop to playing up absurd extremes; this isn't a crackfic where ridiculous hijinks are the norm just because the main character is mistaken for a less-intelligent pet species -- this is a fully fleshed out story. Aaaand we'll get to Reverse Harem (no love triangle!) aspect starting in the next book, don't worry.
If you're on the fence and still undecided: take the plunge, push past the opening pages, and hopefully you'll end up sucked in and as suddenly invested as I was!
September 30, 2024
3.5 ⭐️
She tapped herself again, “My name is Cece.”
We all rocked back on our tails. We were frozen with shock. There had been a portion of my mind that had expected this not to work. That I was hoping she was sentient.
Seph cleared his throat, “Hi, Cece.” Her name hissed out of him.
Tears gathered in her eyes. She closed them, putting a hand over her mouth. Her body shook once. She dropped her hand and looked into Seph’s eyes, “Hi, Seph.”
***** Review with spoilers *****
Positive points:
• It was a very fast pasted novel, with fluid writing, that made me read through the book without even feeling the pages going.
• Initially, was very funny to watch the Nestmates thinking that Cece was a pet, treating her like a little dog.
• It was interesting how the author created a very detailed background story for the Nestmates race and all the political issues happening in their planet.
Negative points:
• The descriptions of how the aliens looked went too profound on the alien side, making imagine them very hard. And once I tried to generate their images on chatgpt, I came back with something that wasn't attractive at all.
• The whole book felt like a introduction, so even tho we had a lot of information over their race, we had very little information about the characters, having only some perceptions of their personalities. Because of that, it was even hard for me to separate each of them for a long time during the read, so much so that I had to write the names down and also some characteristics that would connected their names to their personality or some event.
• While it was interesting and new to see them thinking she was a pet in the beginning, it became very tiring as the book went on and on and they didn't noticed that she wasn't. Taking all the book for them to finally notice that became very repetitive after some time.
• Because of their difficulty of noticing that she wasn't a pet, we would always stay on their side of the story to understand things, having a view of the aliens side, which became kind of hard since they already knew everything about their life and their Netmates. In some way, it made the reading harder, because normally we would get to know the other characters with the main one, so a lot of informations, specially about aliens, the reader had to read through the lines to get, in a less direct way.
• At some point the story didn't even felt that was about the Cece, as the protagonist, but about the Netmates, making Huzzar the main character, since a lot of scenes posted him as the center of everything, letting Cece on the side.
Main characters: Cece, Seethur, Vesex, Hix, Huzzar and Seph.
She tapped herself again, “My name is Cece.”
We all rocked back on our tails. We were frozen with shock. There had been a portion of my mind that had expected this not to work. That I was hoping she was sentient.
Seph cleared his throat, “Hi, Cece.” Her name hissed out of him.
Tears gathered in her eyes. She closed them, putting a hand over her mouth. Her body shook once. She dropped her hand and looked into Seph’s eyes, “Hi, Seph.”
***** Review with spoilers *****
Positive points:
• It was a very fast pasted novel, with fluid writing, that made me read through the book without even feeling the pages going.
• Initially, was very funny to watch the Nestmates thinking that Cece was a pet, treating her like a little dog.
• It was interesting how the author created a very detailed background story for the Nestmates race and all the political issues happening in their planet.
Negative points:
• The descriptions of how the aliens looked went too profound on the alien side, making imagine them very hard. And once I tried to generate their images on chatgpt, I came back with something that wasn't attractive at all.
• The whole book felt like a introduction, so even tho we had a lot of information over their race, we had very little information about the characters, having only some perceptions of their personalities. Because of that, it was even hard for me to separate each of them for a long time during the read, so much so that I had to write the names down and also some characteristics that would connected their names to their personality or some event.
• While it was interesting and new to see them thinking she was a pet in the beginning, it became very tiring as the book went on and on and they didn't noticed that she wasn't. Taking all the book for them to finally notice that became very repetitive after some time.
• Because of their difficulty of noticing that she wasn't a pet, we would always stay on their side of the story to understand things, having a view of the aliens side, which became kind of hard since they already knew everything about their life and their Netmates. In some way, it made the reading harder, because normally we would get to know the other characters with the main one, so a lot of informations, specially about aliens, the reader had to read through the lines to get, in a less direct way.
• At some point the story didn't even felt that was about the Cece, as the protagonist, but about the Netmates, making Huzzar the main character, since a lot of scenes posted him as the center of everything, letting Cece on the side.
Main characters: Cece, Seethur, Vesex, Hix, Huzzar and Seph.
July 14, 2025
Ps: its 3:22am, forgive my typos🙏
I'm going to be honest.
I genuinely, genuinely loved the book.
There was an itch i had for an alien abduction book where the abducted would be mistaken for a dog like pet. Every inch of the ich was scratched here. Honeastly, I didnt notice any faults, truly enjoyed the story, characters and the dialog. I even dinished it in about 2 days.
The only complaint I'd make is that sometimes the writing can be a tiny bit choppy, though I'm not sure if I got used to the choppy short sentenced or if it just was not frequent. So I wouldnt worry about it too much.
As for the story, it had just the right amount of lore to keep the story moving and just the right amount of time spent together for the characters to establish the story and relationship well and give it the time it deserves. I also love that the athor isnt afraid to follow a single characters journey even when it takes us away from the fmc(please dont do this with villans though). The aliens relationship is almost human I gotta admit, with all the arguments they get in and their little pet peeves about eachother just brought in the perfect amount of realism. I enjoy serious themes, when they're taken lightly or arnt the absolute core of the characters personality. I enjoyed how unproblematic the fmc was and how easily she fell into situations, it feels more like a different world I'm peaking into that way. I definitely could keep going about the book but I need to go read the second book. I already know im going to be so sad after finishing it since the 3rd book has been delayed in its release.
This is a sold 5 star book, especially considering it looks like its one of the arthurs first books and in a pretty underratted genre. I've read other books in this genre with the same trope and by far this exceeded my expectation in both writing and plot.
I hope the author continues with theyre style of story telling and writting it can only get better, I can feel it. It's sad because I couldnt find this arthur in my library apps like libby and hoopla and they definitely deserve a place on library shelves. I feel like if people only new of these books and spent some time reading them, they would definitely be the next big thing.
I'm going to be honest.
I genuinely, genuinely loved the book.
There was an itch i had for an alien abduction book where the abducted would be mistaken for a dog like pet. Every inch of the ich was scratched here. Honeastly, I didnt notice any faults, truly enjoyed the story, characters and the dialog. I even dinished it in about 2 days.
The only complaint I'd make is that sometimes the writing can be a tiny bit choppy, though I'm not sure if I got used to the choppy short sentenced or if it just was not frequent. So I wouldnt worry about it too much.
As for the story, it had just the right amount of lore to keep the story moving and just the right amount of time spent together for the characters to establish the story and relationship well and give it the time it deserves. I also love that the athor isnt afraid to follow a single characters journey even when it takes us away from the fmc(please dont do this with villans though). The aliens relationship is almost human I gotta admit, with all the arguments they get in and their little pet peeves about eachother just brought in the perfect amount of realism. I enjoy serious themes, when they're taken lightly or arnt the absolute core of the characters personality. I enjoyed how unproblematic the fmc was and how easily she fell into situations, it feels more like a different world I'm peaking into that way. I definitely could keep going about the book but I need to go read the second book. I already know im going to be so sad after finishing it since the 3rd book has been delayed in its release.
This is a sold 5 star book, especially considering it looks like its one of the arthurs first books and in a pretty underratted genre. I've read other books in this genre with the same trope and by far this exceeded my expectation in both writing and plot.
I hope the author continues with theyre style of story telling and writting it can only get better, I can feel it. It's sad because I couldnt find this arthur in my library apps like libby and hoopla and they definitely deserve a place on library shelves. I feel like if people only new of these books and spent some time reading them, they would definitely be the next big thing.
September 6, 2025
I never expected to like it as much as I did. It was highly entertaining and easy to sink into. At first, I thought it was going to be one of those insta-love or lust romances, but it’s not. The romance, at least, with the female main character (FMC) doesn’t happen here—it's not even hinted at. The five snake-like aliens believe she’s an animal, albeit a surprisingly clever one. At times, the way they described her made me laugh because it almost sounded like they were talking about a cat. They’ve never encountered a human, nor do they have any record of them in their database. What the book does feature, though, is a gay polycule with the aliens. Romance with the FMC seems more likely in book two, once they begin to see her as a person and not an animal.
Because of this, some readers may find this very slow or feel that Cece should have done more to prove she was intelligent instead of continuing the act. She had her reasons for being cautious, though.
Others might also wonder why the aliens weren’t more suspicious. From their perspective, The book does provide explanations for their assumptions, though some readers might still find it hard to accept.
Overall, I liked the buildup. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, seeing them go about their “day” on the ship, the glimpses of alien society in space, and their perspectives. The ending was great. I love how I’m looking forward to book two, as I’m curious to see how they'll handle it.
Oh, and before I forget, since I know this might bother other readers, this book could've used another grammar check. I noticed some errors along the way, but I didn't find them too disruptive.
Because of this, some readers may find this very slow or feel that Cece should have done more to prove she was intelligent instead of continuing the act. She had her reasons for being cautious, though.
Others might also wonder why the aliens weren’t more suspicious. From their perspective, The book does provide explanations for their assumptions, though some readers might still find it hard to accept.
Overall, I liked the buildup. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, seeing them go about their “day” on the ship, the glimpses of alien society in space, and their perspectives. The ending was great. I love how I’m looking forward to book two, as I’m curious to see how they'll handle it.
Oh, and before I forget, since I know this might bother other readers, this book could've used another grammar check. I noticed some errors along the way, but I didn't find them too disruptive.
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