King Grim Vasteri is the strongest and most feared warrior in the Tornian Empire. He is the King of Luda, blood brother to the Emperor and his line will die with him. He will have no offspring for no female would join with him for once he was scarred he was considered 'unfit'. The Tornian Empire has been dying ever since the great infection caused the birth of females to become a rarity. Since then they have been searching the known universes for compatible females. The Emperor's discovery of a compatible female on a slave ship changed that. He'd ordered Grim to find his Empress' home world so more 'unprotected' females could be obtained, knowing Grim would never be allowed to Join with one.
Lisa Miller is a widowed mother of two little girls, Carly and Miki. Her husband died just a year ago, after a long battle with cancer and she misses him immensely. Friends want her to start dating again but in her heart, she knows there isn't a man on the planet she could love like her Mark. Who could love their girls like their own. Therefore, she'll stay alone.
When Lisa is discovered 'unprotected' at her husband's grave, she wakes on an alien ship heading for an alien world. Refusing to accept this she confronts the large males, demanding she be returned to her children. Seeing his chance to have a female, Grim agrees to accept and protect her offspring, if she agrees to Join with him and only him. Realizing this is the only way she can retrieve her children Lisa agrees and the Tornian Empire changes forever.
Publisher: M.K. EidemDate
Published:August 30, 2013
Pages: 386
Genres: Erotica, science fiction, paranormal romance
While visiting her husband's grave, widowed Lisa Miller was kidnapped and brought aboard an alien spaceship. When she awoke and found herself without her children, she immediately springs to action with the other captives. She refused to leave without her children and threatens the aliens. The males however would not take on children from another male and denied her. Grim Vasteri, a scarred male, seeing an opportunity to secure himself a female when otherwise it would be impossible agreed to bring Lisa's children as long as she consents to be his female alone. You see, a scarred male is deemed unfit to protect a female, and without a female and offsprings, a male's position is at risk. Grim's outlook was bleak, since no Tornian female would choose him, but not only does he secure a female, he also has two valuable female offsprings.
I really enjoyed this book. It was long enough to have a good amount of substance, it was exciting, and moved at a great pace. Lisa and Grim's relationship developed quickly, definitely more towards an insta-love, which I didn't like so much. I believe it was said that it takes two weeks to get to Luda, their planet, so they fell in love that quick. Lisa has a strong character, she is protective of her children, is not afraid to let her feelings known, and she continuously challenges Grim and his cultural norms. Grim is loyal, protective, willing to change, and does not have enough confidence in himself. These two characters fit well and their little girls, Mikki and Carly were a softness that Grim needed in his life.
I liked the world building, but it could have been more. I felt the political side of the book needed more work as well as the the portrayal of the environment. It needed to be depicted in a more detailed way. Even though it needed much editing, it was a self published novel and that itself is admirable.
There was a great amount of potential, but I still had a few issues. I don't think aliens would understand human idioms. A few times in the story Lisa would explain herself, other times she wouldn't. Quite a few spelling and grammar mistakes as well, but when your into the story you may not even notice them. A character Callen had a sudden name change to Cullen by the end of the book. A century old custom of females speaking with males are disregarded during Lisa's speech with the Assembly towards the end. If males are uncomfortable with females speaking directly to them, they should have spoken up about it but instead it's just accepted. Even with these inconsistencies, I would still recommend the book.
The second book Wray, will be released August 30, 2014 and I can't wait!
Rating: ★★★★☆
