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geekxgirl's review
1.0
1.50 Stars - DNF @ 76% - skimmed to the end.
Honestly I had no expectations going in but damn if this didn't disappoint me. Ultimately the story has all the typical moving parts good guys, bad guys, arranged marriage and not so secret betrothed and evil step mother etc etc.
Bottom line is it just didn't work for me. If the book could have been read ONLY from the hero Anax's POV I would've likely finished this.
The heroine Lexi was just a mess. See, the author fooled me into thinking this woman had some grit to her but as we read on I see the cracks in her phony armor. The author didn't do a great job with Lexi IMO. She was all over the place. One minute she is pushing Anax away because she's attracted to him and can't have the temptation being engaged to his younger brother. Okay, makes sense. Then she's acting like his best friend and accepting his company. Oh but with a flip of a switch she's being rude and ignoring him. Then on the drop of a dime she decides she suddenly can't marry his brother regardless of the repercussions and decides to go for it with Anax and then they had sex. Literally out of the blue.
Worst of all IMO was how childish she became. The flair for dramatics was so extreme I had to take a moment to verbally rant to my unsuspecting sister because of how annoying Lexi was. The moment she went from sorta annoying to full blown "hands in the air done with her" happened was when she ran away from Anax (for the second or third time at this point) and refused to let him explain about his betrothed. And let me tell you, reading Lexi being an emotional teenager by jumping to conclusions about Anax not feeling anything for her because he didn't find the right time to tell her about said betrothed was one thing but this moron had the NERVE to judge him for sleeping with her while he had a fiancee. You heard right! Lexi, who is/was still engaged to his brother had a hissy fit over him having a betrothed he felt nothing for in the same way she felt nothing for his brother because it was simply a duty. Nuts, right? I couldn't believe the nerve of her. And naturally the author tries to play this over dramatic and hypocritical behavior off because poor wittle Lexi had her heart broken by her ex who cheated on her with his ex. Come onnnn! Oh boo hoo about not trusting people. Sounded more like she had the emotional maturity of the teenager she was supposedly marrying.
I just couldn't. Lexi was a grown woman pushing thirty and she was just so immature in thought and actions. She flip flopped so much of her decisions that I got whiplash.
Anax was actually charming and I liked him which was too bad he had to end up with Lexi as his mate. Bummer.
Honestly I had no expectations going in but damn if this didn't disappoint me. Ultimately the story has all the typical moving parts good guys, bad guys, arranged marriage and not so secret betrothed and evil step mother etc etc.
Bottom line is it just didn't work for me. If the book could have been read ONLY from the hero Anax's POV I would've likely finished this.
The heroine Lexi was just a mess. See, the author fooled me into thinking this woman had some grit to her but as we read on I see the cracks in her phony armor. The author didn't do a great job with Lexi IMO. She was all over the place. One minute she is pushing Anax away because she's attracted to him and can't have the temptation being engaged to his younger brother. Okay, makes sense. Then she's acting like his best friend and accepting his company. Oh but with a flip of a switch she's being rude and ignoring him. Then on the drop of a dime she decides she suddenly can't marry his brother regardless of the repercussions and decides to go for it with Anax and then they had sex. Literally out of the blue.
Worst of all IMO was how childish she became. The flair for dramatics was so extreme I had to take a moment to verbally rant to my unsuspecting sister because of how annoying Lexi was. The moment she went from sorta annoying to full blown "hands in the air done with her" happened was when she ran away from Anax (for the second or third time at this point) and refused to let him explain about his betrothed. And let me tell you, reading Lexi being an emotional teenager by jumping to conclusions about Anax not feeling anything for her because he didn't find the right time to tell her about said betrothed was one thing but this moron had the NERVE to judge him for sleeping with her while he had a fiancee. You heard right! Lexi, who is/was still engaged to his brother had a hissy fit over him having a betrothed he felt nothing for in the same way she felt nothing for his brother because it was simply a duty. Nuts, right? I couldn't believe the nerve of her. And naturally the author tries to play this over dramatic and hypocritical behavior off because poor wittle Lexi had her heart broken by her ex who cheated on her with his ex. Come onnnn! Oh boo hoo about not trusting people. Sounded more like she had the emotional maturity of the teenager she was supposedly marrying.
I just couldn't. Lexi was a grown woman pushing thirty and she was just so immature in thought and actions. She flip flopped so much of her decisions that I got whiplash.
Anax was actually charming and I liked him which was too bad he had to end up with Lexi as his mate. Bummer.
alejandra_guerrero's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
The story could have been better. They have four interactions, then they have sex, then they’re in love. Lexi changes her mind in the drop of a hat. First, she’s determined to be faithful, because she got cheated on, and promised to herself she would never do that to someone. So she rejects and avoids Anax, and that makes sense. But then she proceeds to act hot then cold with him and on their fourth interaction she decides “fuck being faithful, YOLO, let’s fuck”. Only to ditch everything because he didn’t tell her he was engaged. How didn’t she know? He’s the freaking crown prince, she’s gonna marry his brother, and nobody told her Anax was engaged? She didn’t think he probably was, with literally ALL of his siblings either married or engaged? This felt like a cheap way for the author to introduce drama.
xvicesx's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I attempted to read this properly for the first 40% or so but this was a chore. I started skimming some 10% later and I'm not sure that I lost much value doing that.
All characters came across as cardboard placeholders for archetypes but there wasn't much filling to really attempt to make them come alive.
Overall, the entire read was a disappointing chore. I'd recommend more reading of books with similar tropes to get a better handling of making realistic characters and better paced plot. Ruby Dixon is, in my opinion, a good place to start.
All characters came across as cardboard placeholders for archetypes but there wasn't much filling to really attempt to make them come alive.
Overall, the entire read was a disappointing chore. I'd recommend more reading of books with similar tropes to get a better handling of making realistic characters and better paced plot. Ruby Dixon is, in my opinion, a good place to start.
aliasaurora's review
3.0
In this novel, an alien civilization visits earth and demands a marriage alliance. FMC is the niece of the childless billionaire who made first contact, so the duty falls to her instead of… idk, the child of the US President? The UK royal family? Someone from the UN? There were a lot of more logical options here, but we must suspend or disbelief.
Unfortunately, the FMC’s betrothed is a teenager with a hot, unmarried older brother who instantly sets his sights on her. FMC has been cheated on before, so for the first 45% of the book, the FMC is determined to avoid the MMC and stay faithful to her intended. And then she just does a 180 for no discernible reason and from then on they can’t keep their hands off each other and it’s insta-love.
Unfortunately, the FMC’s betrothed is a teenager with a hot, unmarried older brother who instantly sets his sights on her. FMC has been cheated on before, so for the first 45% of the book, the FMC is determined to avoid the MMC and stay faithful to her intended. And then she just does a 180 for no discernible reason and from then on they can’t keep their hands off each other and it’s insta-love.
kymagirl's review
5.0
My review has to address two forms for this story - the first being the ebook, which I purchased; and the second being for the audiobook, which I received a free copy to review. The combined score is why I give this a four star rating overall.
I like the story itself and would give it a five stars:
Lexi (h) has been coerced by her uncle to become the fiancé of an alien prince, who turns out to be and eighteen year old boy who's eight years her junior. She finds herself attracted to his older birther, Anax (H), the Crown Prince of Herkleios. I like the storyline with its romance, hot and intense sex scenes, fated mates, political intrigue and action, and enjoy Lexi and Anax as characters very much. As the first full book in the series (yes, there is a prequel), it does a good job of world and culture building, and really sets the tone for the series.
I'm not wild on the audiobook and would give it three stars (and I'm being kind):
The narrator for the audiobook is Skyler Morgan. He was okay for the Anax/male voices, but I just couldn't stand his attempt at Lexi/female voices - trying to a do a smooth, higher pitch voice just did not work for me. Because I'd read the story before, I strongly considered not finishing the audiobook but decided to plow ahead. I will not be listening to it again and am thankful I didn’t pay anything for it other than my time.
I like the story itself and would give it a five stars:
Lexi (h) has been coerced by her uncle to become the fiancé of an alien prince, who turns out to be and eighteen year old boy who's eight years her junior. She finds herself attracted to his older birther, Anax (H), the Crown Prince of Herkleios. I like the storyline with its romance, hot and intense sex scenes, fated mates, political intrigue and action, and enjoy Lexi and Anax as characters very much. As the first full book in the series (yes, there is a prequel), it does a good job of world and culture building, and really sets the tone for the series.
I'm not wild on the audiobook and would give it three stars (and I'm being kind):
The narrator for the audiobook is Skyler Morgan. He was okay for the Anax/male voices, but I just couldn't stand his attempt at Lexi/female voices - trying to a do a smooth, higher pitch voice just did not work for me. Because I'd read the story before, I strongly considered not finishing the audiobook but decided to plow ahead. I will not be listening to it again and am thankful I didn’t pay anything for it other than my time.
scbookbutterfly's review
5.0
WOW! This new series is going to be soooooo good! Once I started this story I couldn’t stop. Lexi and Anax are meant to be, and it is so obvious from the very first chapter. Too bad she’s been betrothed to his much younger brother, but every relationship has its issues right?
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