A satisfying, sexy, and fast-paced alien romance.
A human woman is kidnapped by an alien who believes she's his mate.
Liz has had a pretty bad week—she was stolen from her Oklahoma farm by little green aliens and transported millions of miles from Earth. After something goes wrong on the ship, the green aliens abandon Liz and the rest of the human women on a cold ice planet with two distant suns. The planet’s local inhabitants, the sa-khui, are a small tribe of large blue aliens that have developed a symbiotic relationship with the khui, a glowing space worm that helps their bodies withstand the bitter climate. The tribe has suffered devastating population losses from hunting accidents and sickness, leaving them fewer than 30 members, only 4 of whom are women. Raahosh is a hunter who resigned himself to a life of loneliness, but when his khui resonates for Liz, he knows she is his mate. Rather than chance being separated from her, he spirits her away to his hidden cave, hoping to prove himself worthy of her. Liz is furious at being kidnapped again and is determined to make as many choices as she can for herself. She demands to hunt with Raahosh, making her own bow and arrows to prove her worth. Raahosh and Liz have explosive chemistry and learn to respect each other’s strengths. Liz is an especially appealing character: feisty, brave, and stubborn. She’s the perfect match for the taciturn Raahosh, who wants to be loved for who he is and valued as an equal partner. In the background of their romance, Dixon shows how the sa-khui and humans are beginning the hard work of building a new culture together.
A satisfying, sexy, and fast-paced alien romance.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-54603-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Nov. 29, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
A funny but uneven take on love at the end of the world.
It’s the end of the world as she knows it, but the Prince of Hell is fine.
Callie, a recent college graduate living back at home with her mother, is admittedly “flailing a bit” at adulthood. With no idea what to do with her history degree, she's helping to run The Great Escape, the family’s successful escape room business. But on Callie's first weekend taking the reins while her mom is away, all hell breaks loose—literally. A satanic cult headed by the blackhearted Solomon Elerion has been drawn to the occult-inspired escape room for a prop book of spells that turns out to be very real, hoping to summon a high-level demon. Their plan? To bargain for the location of The Holy Lance, which they will use to bring about the apocalypse. Luke Morningstar, Prince of Hell, is also finding adulthood harder than he imagined. He has yet to receive his wings and is under strict orders from his father to start harvesting souls for the underworld. When his supervisor, Lucifuge Rofocale, is summoned by Elerion, Luke goes in his stead with grand plans to accomplish this task and get his dad off his back. What he doesn’t plan for is Callie, their immediate attraction, or how much he wants to help her save the world. The author successfully creates a tongue-in-cheek supernatural adventure held up by witty banter and a ragtag team of heroic underdogs, including Callie's nonbinary best friend, the artistic and stylish Mag. But the lackluster instalove romance between a stereotypically bookish heroine and a demon who's supposed to be hot as hellfire but lacks any sinister devilishness, pacing that's off, and ham-fisted pop-culture references drag the novel down.
A funny but uneven take on love at the end of the world.Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-2507-7174-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
A queer and fantastical romance that enchants in more ways than one.
Fairy mischief descends on Regency England once again.
The Caesar family occupies a delicate position in 1815 London. They are welcome at most society functions because Lady Mary is the daughter of an earl, but they're kept at arm’s length because her husband is a Senegalese freeman, leaving the family's three children at odds as they enter adulthood. The eldest son, Mr. Caesar, knows he ought to find a career and settle down, but he has no interest in doing so—he's a dandy, plus he's only attracted to men. For the most part, he keeps to the sidelines, until he punches a major in the teeth for insulting the older of his two sisters, Miss Caesar. Not long after, Miss Caesar makes a deal with a fairy that turns her into "the Beauty Incomparable," making the Caesars the center of conversation across London. All this sudden excitement brings Mr. Caesar into repeated contact with Captain Orestes James, a Black man who lives his life much more authentically alongside a steadfast group of soldiers called the Irregulars—which causes Mr. Caesar to imagine other possibilities for his life. And who recounts this complex and quirky story for our mortal enjoyment? Just as in Hall’s Mortal Follies (2023), it’s none other than Robin Goodfellow, still in exile from the court of Oberon and grumpy as ever at having to write up yet another story of foolish mortal behavior in order to make ends meet. (And while this volume stands alone fairly well, it will be best enjoyed after having read the first). His deliciously cruel and flippant voice once again provides a clever framework for the story’s balance of levity and gravity. As “the vagaries of mortal physicality mean little” to Robin, the story is fairly closed-door by Hall’s standards, but there are sparks of chemistry between Mr. Caesar and Captain James. And though the romance often takes a back seat to the grander plot, thanks to piles of rich detail, mythological references, and interactions with the Other Court, readers may not even notice.
A queer and fantastical romance that enchants in more ways than one.Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9780593497586
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2024
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