by Leslie Chase
The Blurb: Amy Kelland didn’t believe in aliens, which did nothing to stop them abducting her from a camping trip. Trapped on their spaceship, lightyears from Earth, how can a lone Earthwoman escape?
Her only hope is one of the aliens who captured her. The ripped, blue-skinned warrior claims to be on her side, and Amy can’t afford to doubt him. He’s her only ally. He’s her only hope. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s the hottest man she’s ever laid eyes on!
Kadran knew this undercover assignment was going to be tough. His own experiences with raiders gave him more than enough reason to hate them, and hiding his feelings wouldn't be easy.
When they capture the human female it only gets harder. Beautiful, intoxicating, and all too helpless, Amy is everything Kadran desires. There’s no way he can let her be sold — not even if freeing her means breaking his cover.
But the man who intended to buy Amy isn’t happy to see his prize snatched away… and he’s more powerful than either of them could have imagined. With the fate of planets hanging in the balance, can Kadran keep Amy safe? Or will duty tear them apart?
We haven't really tackled an "alien abduction" story this Autumn, so I found this story's premise perfect for delving into that type of plot.
In this book, we're introduced to Kadran and Amy. Amy is just a normal woman from Earth spending a weekend camping with her friends. Kadran is aboard a slave raiding ship on the prowl to snatch up innocent humans to be sold into slavery.
But what starts out as a typical "alien-abduction" story turns out to be so much more. Kadran is actually undercover with the ASP (Anti-Slavery Patrol) and his mission is to get enough intel on a particular slave trading ring to shut them down for good.
But this mission is very personal. Kadran, himself, was once a slave. His entire planet was disseminated and the majority of inhabitants were forced into slavery. He fought for his freedom and intends to the same for other across the universe. He also never expected the one female being abducted to be his mate. She is the most important person in the universe to him and he will stop at nothing until she is safe.
One instant and refreshing aspect of the book is Amy. Her attitude and reaction to the unimaginable situation of being abducted is believable and impressive. She is strong and resilient and refuses to take this lying down. She doesn't cower or take things at face value. You can feel her mind constantly at work trying to figure out the best way out of this circumstance. And once we find out the "real" reason she has been kidnapped, we start to truly learn who Amy is by the choices she is forced to make.
Kadran is a great hero. He's focused, intelligent, and morally sound. Despite the horrors he has experienced at the hands of the empire, he has chosen a job to do good and rescue others who have been dealt the same fate.
There were so many interesting and intriguing things about this book. For one, I thought the idea of the human race actually being scattered throughout the universe (leaders of the Empire, in fact) was a new and fresh idea. Humans are normally made out to be weak and inconsequential in most Alien books. That wasn't the case in this one. And the reasons to not "invade" young planets with little to no space exploration was very realistic.
This story was full of action and the way it was pieced together was well thought out and nicely paced. It is well-written and I found myself engrossed in the desperate and almost hopeless situations Amy found herself in. The ups and downs were exciting and exhausting but I appreciated having both an emotional and physical reaction to the book.
And, of course, throughout it all was a growing romance between our main characters. The attraction was instant and it smoldered nicely. It fit well within the main plot of the book without being too suffocating.
This book had a little of everything: action, drama, suspense, intrigue and romance. I enjoyed the characters and the unpredictable twists and turns kept me on my toes and turning those pages.
Well done, Ms. Chase. This was a fun, fast read and I enjoyed every minute of it. There are more books in this series and I'll definitely be adding them to my tbr list.
What did you think?
