Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - Barbarian's Mate

Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Barbarian's Mate by Ruby Dixon

8 reviews

tinkerswiftie's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I knew these two would end up together from the first mention of their hate for each other in the first book. 😂 This book also furthers the greater story so it was a lot of find to explore the planet a bit more and let the greater plot take more shape. 🙌

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pastryghost's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.0

It was fine, disappointing after I liked Tiffany's book so much. The plot was compelling, but I was frustrated at the end when it was passed over for the climactic romance scene. But that could be a plus for some readers!

I think this book would please fans of the, um, breeding plot, and readers who enjoy this series mostly for the spice and the resonance trope. There is some very important world-building (and series advancement) that is ultimately overshadowed by the spicy romance.

I was expecting Josie and Haeden to try to resist their resonance, or keep it a secret, for longer than they did. The book pretty much immediately dives into the "everyone knows we resonated" pressure as soon as it happens. I wanted a bit more of hiding-our-resonance-because-i-hate-you-but-we-still-wanna-kiss antics. Similar to the other books, the plot allows the leads to have prolonged alone time to emotionally connect and reckon with their feelings. And lots of smutty scenes.

I liked Tiffany's narration in the last book, so unfortunately it felt a bit of a letdown to go back to a narration that feels very similar to the other books in the series. The girls use a lot of the same slang. And once again, there are dozens of examples of the "Rhetorical question? Obvious answer." writing style. This kind of unnecessary question style? Well, it's my biggest pet peeve of Dixon's writing. And honestly? She could just use a comma instead.

Overall, not for me. I'm interested in

the two sisters who were freed from the stasis pods, the main characters of

the next two books, but I should probably peter off this series now. Urgh.

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allingoodtime's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is the first book in this series I have read as an audiobook and it was great. I was really able to fall into this world without worrying about new words and pronunciations.

While I found Haeden to be overbearing in previous books, I knew his heart was always in the right place. Since he had lost his whole family to illness and barely survived himself, you just know there is a lot that motivates his grim looks and scowls. Josie could never seem to cut him a break, and still doesn’t once they resonate. Once Josie’s backstory is told, I understand her reactions to Haeden a bit more but it still took me a bit to settle into her character.

Although I wasn’t crazy about Josie at first, I still felt there was amazing chemistry between her and Haeden. They couldn’t help but be drawn to each other and it was almost heartbreaking the way they couldn’t get past the chips on their shoulders to see that. Every time it seemed they would finally give into their true feelings there would be a misstep to pull them back again. The way Josie and Haeden both thought they were unwanted broke my heart over and over. Yet in the end they are perfect for each other, the only ones who can understand those feelings and make sure they’re never felt again.

Of course, with Josie being the last of the humans and this book isn’t even halfway through the series, there is a discovery made and some intrigue at the end of the story that will keep things moving along.

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kb33's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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missbliss's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Least Favorite Couple Still Good World Building

I have mentioned in my previous review that I really think Ruby builds such solid and unique characters that this starts to be about personal preferences for characters and couples. And I was surprised that this was the first time I felt rather lack luster towards the couple of Josie/Haeden. I will acknowledge feeling disappointed as I am usually into the enemies to lovers trope and I had been very eager to hear more about Haeden's back story. Again the world building and awareness of the Not-Hoth community continues to be very engaging but I found Haeden to feel too Drax like (character from Guardians of the Galaxy) not grumpy as much as flat affect and severely concrete thinker that made him hard to engage with. Josie I think some will not like because she is incredibly self focused in all her decisions without care or concern of the effect on others. I feel like her behavior is almost more explained by comments Tiffany made in the last volume about what trauma can do to a person and the sense of scarcity that can lead to self preservation and the story really drives home how Josie's whole life has built to this. However both Josie and Haeden never felt as alive to me as other characters, and I found myself less interested in their dynamic where I did not experience as much chemistry and more interest in questions that were being set up in the world. For instance the role of the resonance no matter the personal will of the individual. Honestly I thought what would happen if one of the women from earth was a lesbian. I also think there is a building concern being brought up in the scarcity of women and the growing effect this is having on the young eligible males in the group who are as each volume has been demonstrating acting more aggressively and out of character (based on several volumes now of violence against other males like with Salukh in the last volume and the males at the end of this volume). There is definitely a growing unease that even the older mated males seem very concerned about. I also was frankly very put off by the wrap up of this story which felt rushed and blatantly out of character for Josie. Not for spoilers but just that previously Josie had been very emotionally invested in some folks safety and their well being to at the end literally ignoring someone crying out in fear and disturbance so she could have sex with Haeden--for me this is either a hastily written conclusion or is hammering home that the khui literally makes characters act in a manner that goes against the individuals own values and concern for connection with community. Perhaps this is why the lack of resonance is also starting to drive the men to irrational acts of violence and aggression. It poses some interesting albeit dark implications for the relationship with a symbiont that holds such power over the individual who hosts it. The narration maintained the same quality but again I found the characters to fall flat for me as I do not find the grumpy hard withdrawn male to be attractive. I love a dry snarky wit male who can be engaging but this is not that. Haeden is not witty, there is one moment he starts to be playful and I for that brief moment felt more of a connection but that immediately fell away. I continue to love this series and feel no problem continuing and realize that again these couples will land differently for everyone. But just a little disappointed. I am following the reading order from Ruby Dixon's website so will be reading two of the shorts (Having the Barbarian’s Baby and Ice Ice Babies) before moving onto Barbarian’s Touch.

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