tag_gregory's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Interesting worldbuilding. I really enjoyed the intricate worldbuilding in this story. Very complex. I did get a bit lost statues between the various peoples ad different names, though. Definitely needed that glossary. Otherwise good though.
the_novel_approach's review
3.0
I love how Lexi Ander uses aliens and alien cultures. She also weaves entertaining mpreg elements into past works I’ve enjoyed, and similar elements are present in this work. However, while Sūnder did offer me aliens, it struck me as more of a Paranormal Romance. The world is similar to our world, but with a few aliens roaming around instead of shifters. The Panthrÿns and L’fÿns acted like shifters—cat shifters, specifically—with their fur and tails and sometimes stripes, and there was definitely a heavy lean on romantic tropes, but the aliens didn’t turn into animals, Terran or otherwise.
Our protagonist, Gabe, is a nurse and a really good man, but was abandoned by his family at a young age. In the beginning chapters his boyfriend leaves him, stating Gabe doesn’t want the same things he does: a family. Gabe is admittedly commitment-shy because of his past trauma, but all that changes when he meets Sūnder, a magical Panthrÿn/L’fÿn hybrid, during the weeks of an alien matchmaking festival held on Earth.
While we do get Sūnder as a point-of-view character, his character evolution doesn’t seem to be nearly as emotional as Gabe’s. He was more resigned to thinking he’d never find love—because of being a hybrid and having dangerous magic—so most of the drama on his side is related to his parentage, which he’s been dealing with his entire life.
We also had two other POV characters, a friend of Gabe’s and another character who was a mercenary of some sort for one of the royal alien families. They become lovers. To be honest, I felt these characters were added as a segue into a potential spinoff, but I wasn’t invested in them. As it was, this work reads a bit like a fantasy epic: there were a lot of characters, a heavy dose of feudal politics, and it’s pretty lengthy.
I enjoyed the alien aspects to the sex in the book, specifically how Sūnder’s body looked and responded to sexual stimulus: he liked to be grabbed by the tail, he relished primal play, and he had an erogenous zone along his stripes which were actually cracks in his skin—pretty fascinating. There weren’t the usual alpha/omega roles you see in so many Paranormal Romances, and I was happy with that. The characters seemed to give and take equally.
And then there were the mpreg elements, which I definitely liked. I won’t go into the details—because spoilers—but I will say this isn’t a strict mpreg with all the mpreg bells and whistles. If mpreg isn’t your thing but you love Paranormal Romance, I’d still give this work a shot.
Reviewed by Ben for The Novel Approach
Our protagonist, Gabe, is a nurse and a really good man, but was abandoned by his family at a young age. In the beginning chapters his boyfriend leaves him, stating Gabe doesn’t want the same things he does: a family. Gabe is admittedly commitment-shy because of his past trauma, but all that changes when he meets Sūnder, a magical Panthrÿn/L’fÿn hybrid, during the weeks of an alien matchmaking festival held on Earth.
While we do get Sūnder as a point-of-view character, his character evolution doesn’t seem to be nearly as emotional as Gabe’s. He was more resigned to thinking he’d never find love—because of being a hybrid and having dangerous magic—so most of the drama on his side is related to his parentage, which he’s been dealing with his entire life.
We also had two other POV characters, a friend of Gabe’s and another character who was a mercenary of some sort for one of the royal alien families. They become lovers. To be honest, I felt these characters were added as a segue into a potential spinoff, but I wasn’t invested in them. As it was, this work reads a bit like a fantasy epic: there were a lot of characters, a heavy dose of feudal politics, and it’s pretty lengthy.
I enjoyed the alien aspects to the sex in the book, specifically how Sūnder’s body looked and responded to sexual stimulus: he liked to be grabbed by the tail, he relished primal play, and he had an erogenous zone along his stripes which were actually cracks in his skin—pretty fascinating. There weren’t the usual alpha/omega roles you see in so many Paranormal Romances, and I was happy with that. The characters seemed to give and take equally.
And then there were the mpreg elements, which I definitely liked. I won’t go into the details—because spoilers—but I will say this isn’t a strict mpreg with all the mpreg bells and whistles. If mpreg isn’t your thing but you love Paranormal Romance, I’d still give this work a shot.
Reviewed by Ben for The Novel Approach
nishabell's review
3.0
I would have given this book a four but there was an unexpected aspect that just really stuck with me (still does) that made me feel queasy. I don't want to spoil it as it's pretty surprising but I really couldn't handle what happened with the stripes...seriously yuck.
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