Olivia Waterhouse has just graduated from nursing school and has her whole life ahead of her-until she gets drafted. Problem is, she isn’t being forced into the Army, she’s been chosen as a Kindred bride.
The Kindred are huge alien warriors-a race of genetic traders whose population is ninety-five percent male. After saving Earth from the threat of invasion they demand a reward-the right to find brides among the population. The chances of being chosen are about the same as those of winning the lottery-guess it’s just Liv’s lucky day.
Baird is a Beast Kindred who recently escaped imprisonment and torture at the hands of the malevolent Scourge. Through the torment and pain only one thing kept him sane-the thought of finding and claiming his bride-Olivia. His need to possess her is a burning intensity that threatens to consume them both.
Angry at having her future and her family taken away from her, Liv vows to fight back the only way she can-by resisting. She has one month on the Kindred Mothership with Baird-their claiming period. If she can keep from having bonding sex with him during that time, she can go home and get on with her life on Earth.
But Baird isn’t going to make it easy for her. Every week he is allowed to touch Liv more and more intimately and according to the contract she signed, she has to let him. She’s determined to resist him but his touch sets her on fire. And just as she thinks she knows what she wants, a twist of fate and an attack by the faceless Scourge AllFather changes everything…
I really liked this story but I did have some issues with it.
What I liked:
1. I liked Baird first and foremost. He really made the whole story for me – if he hadn’t been the kind, patient and loyal man he was I probably wouldn’t have liked the book too much. He loved Olivia and wanted nothing but to please her. The great part about that is that he didn’t change who he was to do that. He didn’t become some mush-mouthed, google-eyed, lovesick man who would do anything for his woman. It was all within reason and because he stood up for who he was and didn’t take too much crap from Olivia I liked him all the more.
2. The world of the Kindred was pretty cool. They had traded info and technology with other worlds and because of this they had invented some items that I wish we had on Earth now. Like the TakeMe which is an animal with two heads (one on either side of its body) that can grow or decrease in size. It is kind of like a transport system around Baird’s ship and can even eventually know its “riders” thoughts. There were other cool gadgets as well but you’ll have to discover
3. The other Kindred who all seem to be huge warriors but with good hearts and souls…for aliens. 🙂
What I didn’t care for:
1. Olivia. I understood her desire to stay on Earth and continue in her chosen field (she had just graduated from nursing school) and to stay with her friends and her twin sister, but when push came to shove and she started to give in to Baird sexually, she blamed him. Ok, yes, if it wasn’t for Baird she wouldn’t be his “bride” at all but when she begged him to fulfill her needs she didn’t get mad at herself for almost giving in, she blamed him like it was his fault she couldn’t control herself. I understand being a strong woman but the blame throwing really got to me after a while. The first couple of times I could deal with but after that? Not so much.
2. The length of the book. It was quite long with parts of the book that didn’t really seem to take the story further in the long run.
3. As much as I liked Baird and the story did tell us that he had learned English and Earth slang I still found it quite amazing that he sounded so un-alien like to me. It sounded to me like he’d been born and raised in Southern California.
Overall, a pretty good book. I will definitely be reading the next book in the Kindred series.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
I've only read her m/m stuff, which has seemed sort of uneven.
So Tracy, would you say this is an erotic SFR? Or something in that vein? Like Chris, I've only read Anderson's M/M romance and I do love my SFR, so I might just check this out. 🙂
I really quite like the premise, but…the blaming someone else for sucumbing to one's own desire? Hmmm.
Great REview!!! I love the sound of this one! Glad you enjoyed it!!!
OMG I can't believe I never answered any of your comments. I suck! lol Sorry.
Chris – She always has that one off-putting "something" in her books. In this one it was the hero bringing the heroine off in public while others watched. Didn't work for me but it was pretty good overall.
Hilcia – I guess you would call it SFR…maybe. Lol It's on a spaceship but they are hovering over Earth. The heroine does get to learn about new technology and that's cool but it didn't seem that sc-fi-ish to me.
Orannia – I had an issue with the blame as well. I just wanted the heroine to admit that she was the one succumbing…he was just doing what he could to claim his mate.
Lover of Romance – Thanks! Hope you enjoy it.