Rating: 3.5 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel

 

When Kaelum and Lucas made a break for it with the majority of the kidnapped humans, Wesley and the Thorzan warrior, Jax, played decoy. They lured Crux away from the fragile ship with a sturdier vessel … but not sturdy enough. Crux’s attack leaves them disabled and forced to crash on the cold, barren moon of Zathkar, home to the dangerous Zathki with whom Jax’s people have been at war with for generations. On this freezing moon, with no heat and only their broken space ship for shelter, Jax has no idea how to protect the fragile human.

Wesley was always fascinated with science fiction stories, and even fantasy. And now he’s living his own adventure with a seven-foot tall alien (well, a half-human alien) who can do magic and bench press a car, and has an enormous and ridged cock. A cock Wesley’s become more aware of as the two of them sleep cuddled up like puppies in an effort to stay warm. And Wesley … well, he is neither upset nor shy about it, more than willing to cop a feel, steal a kiss, and maybe even think of more. If, you know, there was lube, and lots of it.

One day, having been out in the cold, bitter air of the moon, trying to scavenge anything he can to help repair their ship, Jax returns to find Wesley chatting with a Zathki!  After a bit of posturing, a bit of snarling, chest thumping, and a clear display that the human belongs to Jax, Jax finally agrees to let the Zathki help them fix the ship. After all, they have a thing or two they’d like to talk to Crux about, too. And if Jax can get Prince Kaelum to speak with them, maybe they’ll be able to put an end to this war.

Picking up a little back and to the left of where the first book in the Star Marked Warriors series ended, this is the story of Jax — Prince Kaelum’s best friend and bodyguard — and the human, Wesley. The series is best read in order (all two of them, so far) with a third book being released later this month. This is definitely a series for fans of alien abduction romances, fated mates, and giant warriors being defended by their small, clever, plucky human mates.

Wesley isn’t exactly plucky, but he is clever, and more emotionally stable than most Thorzan warriors. When Jax is doing his alpha male display, Wesley is content to let him show off, and reward him with a smile, but he is just as quick to put a calming hand on his leg or arm when Jax’s temper is getting the better of him. He enjoys the sense of protection and safety Jax gives him, knowing that it’s all happening so very, very fast. After his parents’ death and his own aimless life, Wesley is looking for someone to hold him, someone to love him, someone to be the steady rock he can lean on. And Jax … well, it’d take a lot of leaning, and maybe an explosion, before Jax moved even an inch.

Jax is the son of his father and his father’s second husband and knew, growing up, that his father’s first mate — a mage, a rare Thorzan who can channel a warrior’s magic into something vast and powerful — was his first great love. He still loves Jax’s father, of course, but because of this, Jax can’t help but feel an echo of his father’s pain and fear when it turns out Wes, like Lucas, might be able to channel Jax’s own magic. It makes him more protective, more inclined to want to cuddle Wesley and hide him away from the world.

This series is light, fluffy, and fun. Bit by bit, politics and intrigue are being uncovered and the alien cultures of the Thorzan and the Zathki are being brought together. It’s an interesting caste-like system where one group of aliens are the warriors and the others the scientists, and rivalries and old hatreds have been and are still guiding their lives. With the half-human hybrid generation, and their new human mates, change is coming and not everyone is happy about it. But I am.

I’m very curious to read the next book in the series and see what these two authors have in store. The writing is crisp and clean, the pacing is good, and the world building has definitely caught my attention. If you’re read the first book — or just want some sci-fi flavored romance — this one is worth the read.