Reviews

Zar by Alana Khan

bmpy1's review

5.0

yum

I enjoyed how great the author creates her characters and the depth of personality. Believable world building,staying consistent in description and location etc. looking forward to the rest of the series.

doahdancer's review

lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

arasjial's review

2.0

Naja, ich gab's gelesen aber das wars auch.

An sich möchte ich das Konzept, aber es war noch nicht wirklich ausgebaut.

theninabeana's review

5.0

I honestly really liked this book. I did feel like I wanted more answers at the end (like who made Tyree change? Is Anya pregnant?.. so on and so forth..). I assume these could possibly be answered in the next books though, and I’m probably just being impatient. Will definitely be reading the next book in the series!

ithladin's review

adventurous emotional lighthearted fast-paced

2.5

beckiebookworm1974's review against another edition

3.0

This was a sweet quick sci-fi-romance it was kind of instalove but It was enjoyable enough. It could probably do with a bit more fleshing out though as the world-building wasn’t very elaborate but it was well written otherwise. Anya is kidnapped from Earth along with various other females and wakes up as a slave on a spaceship. Each female is then placed with an alien male for breeding purposes.

Anya finds herself sharing the cell of a feline type alien called Zar. He’s very lion-like and has been a slave his whole life born into captivity he is a gladiator who fights in arenas for whoever owns him at that time. The plan is to breed the woman before selling them on and neither have any say in the matter. Despite this I didn’t find this a dark read Zar is an absolute sweetie and try’s to make things as easy as possible for Anya.

The characters apart from the main ones we’re not that distinguishable and the story itself did feel quite simplistic. On a brighter note there’s a lot of steamy lion action with this one. From here Anya gets everyone on board and stages a mutiny which seems to go surprisingly well. There was no great surprises with this it was an easy light read that passed a couple of hours. I enjoyed it enough to maybe try the second book but it isn’t a masterpiece by any means.



Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com

lonelygirlislonelyagain's review

5.0

I absolutely loved this book, I stayed up late to keep going which doesn't happen that often for me. The heroine, again, loved. Like just a regular 9 to 5 woman but she got kidnapped by aliens for breeding but handled it incredibly, from the get go, taking in information, caring about the other abducted Women, coming up with plans to save everyone all while remaining charming and funny and like her compassion and understanding for "the lion guy" and zar once he gets out of his shell he's so adorable and he's been through so much and I'm so interested in the other characters and their stories and yeah. I just loved this. There is a slight humming in the background but it's only noticeable in the pauses of this recording but it doesn't take away from this fabulous tale.

- I received this book as a promotional item in exchange for a voluntary and honest review-

margonaute's review

adventurous emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

katskinner's review

3.0

AT THIS MOMENT I CAN SEE NO ESCAPE, NO PATHWAY TO SAFETY, NO WAY HOME.

THE BLURB

In the span of about an hour, I’ve been kidnapped by aliens, collared, chipped, and thrown into a tiny cell with a lion-man. An angry, feral, alpha lion-man who’s still staring me down.

Anya’s life goes haywire fast. One minute she’s at home asleep, and the next she’s in a cell with Zar; an alien gladiator. She knows that she probably won’t be able to get home to Earth again, but that doesn’t mean she’s willing to be a slave for the rest of her life.

Zar’s lived most of his life as a slave, forced to fight in the gladiator games. He’s lost hope, and focuses on living day by day. So why does this small human Anya capture his attention? He knows that such a weak species wouldn’t be able to survive in space for long. Is that why he wants to protect her so much?

TONE OF THE BOOK

Zar falls within a neutral to negative tone. The novel definitely focuses on the more serious side of life rather than a light-hearted adventure.

The characters face a number of hardships including non-consensual sex. Whilst they try to stay up beat and positive, Alana Khan does emphasise that they are not living in ideal situations and this carries across in the tone and atmosphere of the book.

SENSITIVE TOPICS

Zar is a romance novel aimed at mature readers.

There are numerous sex detailed scenes throughout the book. It’s very important to note for some readers that some sex scenes are non-consensual.

The novel also has numerous scenes of enslavement (they are slaves after all), and death through combat.

SERIES SYNOPSIS

Zar is the first novel in a 13 book series known as the Galaxy Gladiators, with several shorter novellas exploring character’s backstories in more depth. Each novel focuses on a different couple, ending in a Happily Ever After. There are no cliffhangers, albeit the world plot continues to move forward sometimes unanswered with lingering tension.

This book is 200 pages long, making it slightly shorter than your average romance novel (300 pages average).

REVIEW

I don’t hate her like I’ve hated the others. But lack of hate does not make this a relationship.

In the romance novel Zar, Alana Khan has explored a rather interesting and complex dynamic relationship between multiple slaves. As with all happily ever after romances, the characters will fall in love. The pearl of Zar is the growing and changing relationship between the characters; there is no true or insta-love between the hero and heroine.

Despite the story being set entirely in one location, Alana Khan has done an excellent job of hinting at a large and explorable universe. Each character within the space ship has a unique background, and is a seperate species.

FINAL WORD

Zar was an interesting read. The characters’ personalities outside of the heroes fell a bit short and I would have loved a bit more interaction, however the world building is solid and looks to be an interesting start to a new series.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS AND AUTHORS

If you are after an action novel focusing on gladiators, definitely check out the Galactic Gladiator series by Anna Hackett. The first book in the series is called Gladiator. After humans are abducted from their solar-system, they find themselves at Kor Magna Arena. But the gladiator fights aren’t always what they seem to be.

If you like the idea of alien barbarians, definitely check out Ruby Dixon. Ice Planet Barbarians is about abducted human women surviving an ice-scape planet, with only the help of the local alien barbarians. The first book is aptly named Ice Planet Barbarians. Theres 21 books in this series, and partway through it also branches into the Icehome series with 14 more books, starting with Lauren’s Barbarian.

If you are after another novel with character growth and romance, check out Stolen By An Alien series by Amanda Milo, the first book aptly named Stolen By An Alien. In this series human women are mistaken for a rare and elite species, and thus fetch a high price on an intergalactic space market. The series tends to be a bit more on the serious, slightly darker side.

If you want to explore a rich alien universe filled with tension, fighters and very interesting characters, look at The Infinite City series by Tiffany Roberts. The first book in the series is Silent Lucidity (our review). A female slave’s world turns upside down when she meets an assassin.

bookishfairy's review

1.0

Dnf at 29%

I guess I disliked the apathy of Zar and the lack chemestry I felt. There was nothing to bring me into their story. And maybe it comes later but I've been pushing myself for 10% already so it's a no from me. I'm sorry.