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A review by mx_manda
Claimed by an Alien Warrior by Tiffany Roberts
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
<i>Revisiting a Summer 2019 read that I still hadn't reviewed.
This was one of my first Tiffany Roberts books, during 2019, the year I discovered PNR/SF/Alien romance and inhaled ~400 of them in a 9 month period of time. It was the summer we moved strangely enough, from the area of Upstate NY this books ends in, to South Korea. I could not stand the GR app, so all of my books went unrated, though I did track them. A time when I did not have dozens of shelves to more accurately categorize my reads. This is a long winded way of saying this is a nostalgic/sentimental re-read for me. My second time through was the Audible version, and my only note about that one is the reader sounds too much like Movie Announcer Guy, and he had really bizarre pronunciations of common words. I do not think I will revisit the audiobook, but I will at some point reread this one again.
Anywho. The actual review now—my impersonation of a food blogger is done.</i>
<i>CbaAW</i> is a class standalone TR work: it has lots of action and plot, healthy doses of smut, an instant marshmallow alpha (complete with special words in his own language to smatter throughout to avoid words like "mate" that can grate as one reads them), and a chubby heroine who is a sad sack and isn't able to love herself unless a man is loving her. In many ways, they're part of a very specific flavor of alien romance—and I would argue they're some of the best at this particular one. The writing and editing is genuinely solid, and there's a nice balance of elements. Their dialogue sounds like actual conversations (even if overly heavy on "little____" endearment trope usage), and they mostly manage to infuse information into the story without sounding like it's being wedged in to make sure it's in there. I find I most enjoy their standalone novels to their series, but ymmv on that one.
This is the story of Zoey, a 27 year old woman whose life is really not going well and has tucked tail to go back home to her bestie and lick her wounds for a bit. During a rest stop in Nevada, her junker of a car is commandeered as a transport for escaped alien detainee, Rendash, who has been imprisoned on Earth for 4 years after a crash, tortured and studied by some branch of the US gov't. He's the last survivor and desperate just to get home and have the retirement he was promised—if he ever survived to see it. Zoey ends up agreeing to help him and enmeshes her fate with his. They have a very long way to go, lots of car trouble, seemingly negative amounts of knowledge about how traceable literally every aspect of our lives are, very little cash, and bad weather to contend with. Oh, and the modern day issues of going viral and eyes on them everywhere thanks to America's surveillance state—courtesy of all of us and our need to record and upload everything, supplying all that data.
It's a trip, one I rather enjoyed both times around—even with all of the things that would make it a more rant than review subject, had I read this for the first time now. It's sweet, endearing, has some heart tugging moments, and a rather cheesy ending. It doesn't reinvent the wheel—there's no trope subversion or bold messaging—but it's solid and entertaining. I try to avoid changing star ratings from what my initial one was, but if I were to re-rate this today, it would be a smidge lower: a 3.5, likely entered as a 3 in the GR system, which is too cowardly to give us a half-star rating system and more accurately rate our reads. But when I was fresh and new to alien romance? I really, really liked this one, so it will always have a place in my bookish heart and be revisited every now and again.
This was one of my first Tiffany Roberts books, during 2019, the year I discovered PNR/SF/Alien romance and inhaled ~400 of them in a 9 month period of time. It was the summer we moved strangely enough, from the area of Upstate NY this books ends in, to South Korea. I could not stand the GR app, so all of my books went unrated, though I did track them. A time when I did not have dozens of shelves to more accurately categorize my reads. This is a long winded way of saying this is a nostalgic/sentimental re-read for me. My second time through was the Audible version, and my only note about that one is the reader sounds too much like Movie Announcer Guy, and he had really bizarre pronunciations of common words. I do not think I will revisit the audiobook, but I will at some point reread this one again.
Anywho. The actual review now—my impersonation of a food blogger is done.</i>
<i>CbaAW</i> is a class standalone TR work: it has lots of action and plot, healthy doses of smut, an instant marshmallow alpha (complete with special words in his own language to smatter throughout to avoid words like "mate" that can grate as one reads them), and a chubby heroine who is a sad sack and isn't able to love herself unless a man is loving her. In many ways, they're part of a very specific flavor of alien romance—and I would argue they're some of the best at this particular one. The writing and editing is genuinely solid, and there's a nice balance of elements. Their dialogue sounds like actual conversations (even if overly heavy on "little____" endearment trope usage), and they mostly manage to infuse information into the story without sounding like it's being wedged in to make sure it's in there. I find I most enjoy their standalone novels to their series, but ymmv on that one.
This is the story of Zoey, a 27 year old woman whose life is really not going well and has tucked tail to go back home to her bestie and lick her wounds for a bit. During a rest stop in Nevada, her junker of a car is commandeered as a transport for escaped alien detainee, Rendash, who has been imprisoned on Earth for 4 years after a crash, tortured and studied by some branch of the US gov't. He's the last survivor and desperate just to get home and have the retirement he was promised—if he ever survived to see it. Zoey ends up agreeing to help him and enmeshes her fate with his. They have a very long way to go, lots of car trouble, seemingly negative amounts of knowledge about how traceable literally every aspect of our lives are, very little cash, and bad weather to contend with. Oh, and the modern day issues of going viral and eyes on them everywhere thanks to America's surveillance state—courtesy of all of us and our need to record and upload everything, supplying all that data.
It's a trip, one I rather enjoyed both times around—even with all of the things that would make it a more rant than review subject, had I read this for the first time now. It's sweet, endearing, has some heart tugging moments, and a rather cheesy ending. It doesn't reinvent the wheel—there's no trope subversion or bold messaging—but it's solid and entertaining. I try to avoid changing star ratings from what my initial one was, but if I were to re-rate this today, it would be a smidge lower: a 3.5, likely entered as a 3 in the GR system, which is too cowardly to give us a half-star rating system and more accurately rate our reads. But when I was fresh and new to alien romance? I really, really liked this one, so it will always have a place in my bookish heart and be revisited every now and again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Infidelity and Sexual assault