Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Barbarian Alien

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon

18 reviews

cass_herg's review against another edition

1.0

The first book was obviously bad but in a fun and ridiculous kind of way that made me want to return to the series for a quick head-empty read. But this one was just bad without much of the silly and redeeming aspects. There is HEAVY dub-con for at least half the book and the “happy ending” is essentially just Stockholm syndrome.

Also, quick rant about one part in particular I didn’t like:

when they introduced his family backstory I immediately thought the angle was going to be he and his mom and brother were abused and he was going to learn and grow and not repeat patterns. Like the story is literally that his mom hated his dad and did not want to be with him, was forced into multiple pregnancies, and then the family was taken hostage until raahosh returned severely scared with his mom and brother dead. That could not be more black and white an abusive relationship. But no. It’s used to justify his actions and give a reason for the law (which is a good one!) but then they circle back and basically justify his fathers too???? It’s just such an unnecessary addition to the book to give that as his backstory but show he learned nothing from it and that it’s fine he didn’t because his “punishment” is a dream life.

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puppytrixie5's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Not as good as the first one but good. Takes place right after book 1 with a new girl.

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greebkit's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I read this because I had fun with the first book of the series. There are good parts, but every little thing that bothered me about the first book seemed amplified in this book. The kidnapping trope was very prominent in this book when less so in the 1st. I had a really difficult time not cringing to several things in this book that was more fun in the 1st. Right away the issue of the women being able to choose not to accept the symbiote was trampled on and it is forced on the main character, Liz. Then she is kidnapped by her "mate" even though that was also promised wouldn't be allowed. There was an early part where he ties her up, but then unties her soon after. There's a scene where they both masturbate in front of each other and later it is framed as an attempt to "show independence,"(?) but it is just cringy. He does all this stuff to "protect" his beloved mate, but purposefully doesn't make her shoes so she can't run. There is a very gross part during which Liz keeps telling him no and not to do X, but then wants and enjoys him doing it and then later he fully says that "no means yes" as she taught him and that gross "lesson" is never addressed! She fully realizes what she "taught" him and then it is never brought up again. Later, she argues that he should be fully forgiven for kidnapping her because she loves him now, but also acknowledges that if there is no consequence it puts a bunch of women at risk of being dragged off and raped - which is acknowledged and then never addressed!
I read this for fun, but it was hard to ignore the Stockholm Syndrome and super rapey things going on. There was still some enjoyable parts, but I just could not shut my brain off and ignore these cringy parts. Even the smut wasn't enough to ignore this.
However, I did still give this 3 stars because I do now want to read the next book in series. The 1st book made me, maybe not invested, but curious enough to read this book because it was centered around Liz who I liked as a side character in the 1st book. I previously read the synopsis of the other books in the series and wasn't interested in going beyond this book. Now having read this book, I am interested in the 3rd book because I liked the side character of Kira more so than in the 1st book. So, the author does a really good job with fleshing out these characters and makes you interested in their story.

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a1exander's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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lilalhreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

I know he was barely in it but I loved Aehako. The scene where

Liz holds him “captive”

was one of my favorites. Their banter was cute and I loved that he just went along with it

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melethwi's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

while reading this, besides the staggering consent issues, i couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if one of the girls from the spaceship was gay. (oh wait..... they probably would've forced her to mate to SaVe tHe tRiBe)

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lilbookbee's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I've been slowly working on a deep dive into Ruby Dixon's backlog after reading a Risdaverse book I loved. So, despite really not liking Ice Planet Barbarians, I decided to try again with Barbarian Alien. And while I did not love it, I significantly preferred it to the first in the series.

The issue I keep coming up against in these books is the consent issues. Some of them are communication related, some of them are because of not knowing each other's customs, and some are just due to the nature of the khui and this iteration of fated mates. It's the one thing I keep coming up against that stops me from fully immersing myself into the story.

That being said, once we got past most of the consent issues, this book wasn't bad. It was a bit too much insta-love for this length of book, but it was manageable. There was enough tension that I was still able to enjoy it.

I'm probably gonna jump to another Ruby Dixon series for now. But I do think I will make my way back to read another in the Barbarian series. I just need the cushion of the other 'verses to help me enjoy this in-between.

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