A sweet, sexy story about healing and love.
One of the last remaining unmated human women on an ice planet hopes to stay single.
Tiffany was one of a group of women kidnapped from Earth by evil aliens intending to traffic and enslave them. Their ship crash-landed on a small, icy planet where they were saved by a welcoming community of kind blue aliens consisting mostly of men. In order to survive the unbearably cold temperatures, both blue aliens and humans must implant themselves with a symbiotic creature called the khui, which has a secondary function of “resonating” when two people are a perfect match. It’s now 18 months after the crash, and almost all of the women have found mates and started having babies. Salukh is different from the other men fiercely competing for Tiffany's attention because he treats her like a friend instead of an object to be won. He's patient, kind, and sure that Tiffany is his mate even if they haven’t yet resonated. However, she is terrified of being mated after having been sexually assaulted by the aliens who kidnapped her. For Tiffany, the very thought of resonating and being forced to accept a mate is abhorrent. She’s tired of her choices being taken from her and is determined to learn how to survive on her own. Tiffany’s journey involves letting herself recover at her own pace, which includes slowly trusting Salukh with both her story and her body. Salukh, like most of the aliens in the series, is a perfect fantasy of a romantic partner, willing to patiently provide whatever his lover desires. Dixon’s world continues to evolve, with the newly blended community of human women and alien men struggling with the problems of feeding and housing their growing clan. Tiffany and Salukh’s romance shows how even in a world of fated mates, consent and willingness to enter into a relationship are still important.
A sweet, sexy story about healing and love.Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9780593639450
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023
This time-travel romance doesn’t live up to its intriguing setting.
While in Japan to learn more about her family history, a young Scottish woman is transported 128 years into the past, finding herself on the brink of the Satsuma Rebellion.
Born and raised in Scotland, Isla MacKenzie has traveled to Japan to learn more about the Japanese branch of her mother’s family. She hopes to discover whether family lore is true and she’s descended from a warrior who served alongside legendary rebel samurai leader Takamori Saigō. When a strangely out-of-season typhoon hits the town of Kagoshima, where she’s staying, Isla gets caught in the blinding rain and wind; she stumbles across a white torii gate, but as she approaches, hoping to find shelter, things begin to feel weird. As the storm subsides and Isla looks around, her surroundings seem foreign—Kagoshima’s busy streets and cafes have been replaced by woodlands. When a woman sees Isla and screams, claiming to have discovered a demon in the forest, samurai Maeda Keiichirō is one of the first to answer the call. He’s the voice of reason, recognizing Isla as a young woman, not a demon, even if she looks bizarre. As Isla figures out that she’s been transported back in time, she comes to realize she’s on the cusp of the deadly Satsuma Rebellion, which lasted nine months and ended in the death of its leader, Saigō. While she adjusts to life in the 19th century and searches for a way to make it back to the 21st, she grows closer to Keiichirō, her de facto protector. Like the protagonists of many time-travel romances, Isla struggles with the lack of modern comforts and with growing close to a man she may have to abandon. Also, of course, she knows how the rebellion ends, and is conflicted about using her knowledge to potentially change the course of history. There are the bones of an interesting romance here, especially given the fascinating time period. Unfortunately, the writing feels unpolished: Nine months doesn’t seem like enough time for our leads to make a meaningful connection, but also, not much happens in that timespan. Balancing historical context with a romance that possesses both cultural differences and an impending deadline is a tall order, and Kuroki doesn’t quite manage it.
This time-travel romance doesn’t live up to its intriguing setting.Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9780063410879
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
Slow and plodding.
A young woman with a magical ability to harness light discovers she is royalty.
Talasyn is a foot soldier for her homeland of Sardovia, which has been under attack for the past decade by the powerful and evil Night Empire, a conflict known as the Hurricane Wars. Talasyn is an orphan with no knowledge of her family, but she assumes they might be the source of her rare, magical Lightweaving talent. During a battle with the forces of the Night Empire, Talasyn spars with Prince Alaric, a fierce warrior who is the son and heir to the Night Emperor. Talasyn is sent on a covert mission into Nenavar, a nearby matriarchy that has remained neutral during the Hurricane Wars, to try to access a Light Sever which could hone and refine her magic. Instead, she discovers she is the heir to their royal throne; she and her mother, now presumed dead, disappeared under mysterious circumstances when she was a year old. Alaric follows her into Nenavar, and they discover his magical ability to cast darkness and shadows produces shocking results when mixed with her Lightweaving. A few weeks later, the Night Empire defeats Sardovia and ends the Hurricane Wars, and the novel transitions to a tedious, slow-moving story of court intrigue and diplomacy. A group of Sardovian soldiers and refugees seek asylum in Nenavar, but Talasyn’s grandmother agrees to protect them only if Talasyn agrees to join the royal court and marry Alaric. The politics surrounding the impending wedding is the primary plot for the rest of the novel, and it’s a slog. The glacially slow pacing only serves to highlight the confusing world building and underdeveloped characters. It’s unclear why Alaric and Talasyn are attracted to each other, and their tentative romance is just as stuck in a rut as the plot.
Slow and plodding.Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9780063277274
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023
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