I have mixed feelings about Maddie, but overall, she's the fierce older sister who won't sit back and take bullshit from anyone and I can dig that. Her self-victimization gets jaded over time, though. Hassen is just a lonely guy who wants to have companion. Doesn't excuse his actions in the previous book, though.

Content Warnings

kloughlin's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

bookameme's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted sad tense fast-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

5.0

He’s a 10, but he kidnapped your sister.

Thoughts 💡
As far as I’m concerned Ruby can do no wrong and if you yuck my yum on this a little tiny part of my heart will hate you.
Now, like every good blue barbarian babe (on FB go check them out), I have favorite couples. Maddie & Hassan are somewhere in the top ten. Mostly because I love Maddie’s sass and Hassan’s redemption arc. I also really like that Maddie took on a bit of a teacher role in the furs.
They are one of the kinkiest couple’s on Not Hoth and their shenanigans continue through the whole series, but to truly understand them you have to go through the emotional trauma of this book. Because yes, as fun and lighthearted and smutty as Ruby is, she threw a big old wrench into the sunshine and rainbows of this frozen world.

✨Note✨interconnected standalone
✨✨ Also✨The audiobooks are in the audible plus catalog.
✨✨✨ And one more thing✨ Berkley is rocking these special edition covers, I freaking love them. And they’ve added some bonus content so if you haven’t read this one yet, you should go get it.

Stats📊
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Characters 💙💙💙💙💙
Alien Romance: monster love, plus size girl, FWB to something more, enemies to lovers, sassy FMC, himbo, grief📘
First Person, Past Tense, Dual POV
⚠️ Ngl, Ruby hurt us all with what happened in this one.

Content Warnings

katiekeske's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This is probably one of my least favorite couples (I just find it hard to relate to people who want to be f*** buddies like Maddie was insistent on), but I still am glad to have read this one because around the half way point some major things happen to the tribe. If you care about continuity and overall plot with the tribe, you should read this one.

I have to say I really didn't like all the self fat shaming that Maddie did either.

Content Warnings

allingoodtime's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

After the way Hassan acted in Barbarian’s Touch, I was curious how things would work out in this book. Not to mention Maddie was depicted as a very difficult person. I love how their outcast status brought them together; Hassan being literally exiled and Maddie having made a bad first impression.

Having both a younger and an older sister myself, I can somewhat understand Maddie’s attitude when she first came to the tribe. She was shocked about where she was, introduced to actual aliens, and her sister was abducted. Of course, she was unreasonable and had a volatile temper when she felt nothing was being done to help her. It doesn’t seem the tribe has forgotten her attitude now that it’s all worked out so they keep her at arm’s length. Hassan was left with no family when illness swept through the tribe before the humans arrived. Being exiled leaves him even lonelier and makes him feel like an outsider.

I love the friendship Hassan and Maddie forge before they resonate. There’s no mistaking that they fall in love rather than have their resonating decide for them. It’s a wonderful pairing.

The one thing that bothered me and could be upsetting to some readers is the body image issues Maddie has. It’s very clear that Hassan and the others think nothing of Maddie’s weight or body but she sure does. I understand what the author was trying to do, but it was a bit much at times.

Content Warnings

kb33's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

Content Warnings

bbygirl21's review

Go to review page

challenging sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

I really enjoyed this book. I think it may be my favorite one so far in the series.

I really loved Maddie and Hassen together and even felt bad for them both at times. I liked seeing their journey to finding love for each other despite Hassen's exile and Maddie having to sneak away from the tribe just to see him.

I really liked the ending and seeing Maddie's sister forgiving Hassen for kidnapping her and accepting Maddie and Hassen's relationship and welcoming him to their family. I love the bond that Maddie and Lila have as sisters and seeing it stick even while being truly separated for the first time in their life.

We also find out what was causing Maylak and Rokan's worries. So much happens in such a small amount of time and it's completely devastating for the tribe especially for a few individuals in the tribe. I can't wait to see how Stacy and Pashov deal with the aftermath of what happened as it's especially devastating for Stacy with happened toIPashov. And I'd love to see how Warrek fairs after losing the only family member he had left aside from the whole tribe. I can't wait to see how the whole tribe picks up the pieces and how they deal with everything that's happened.

Overall this was a really good book and I can't wait to continue the series.

Content Warnings

turtledonut's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

More...