Setting: Northern California and the planet Valdire
Genre: Sci-fi/erotica/romance
Abby is a glass artist who lives in the mountains in the home she inherited from her grandparents. Despite having no family (her mother died of an overdose and she never knew her dad) and only one elderly lady friend, she is content. One day, taking a walk on her mountain, she comes across a spaceship in her meadow and finds a handsome injured alien. She takes him home and nurses him back to health. Zoran is the high king of Valdire, a dragon shifter who also has a symbiont that lives on him and can change form and split into separate parts. While Zoran is unconscious, his symbiont takes a liking to Abby and part of it turns into bracelets. When he wakes, he recognizes that this woman on the primitive planet he landed on (yes, that would be Earth) is his True Mate. He basically claims her without really telling her it means she will have to go to his planet. She doesn’t want to go because she is content with her work and home.
The positive in this story is that the couple did not fall into bed immediately. Partly because he was unconscious at first, but also because she was reluctant to have a fling, being a virgin. The negative? He does, as the title indicates, abduct her. It gave me an unsettled feeling. How could she ever feel okay about being dragged away from home without some of her possessions, like photo albums and things inherited from her grandparents? This concern, along with whether she’ll be able to continue with her art, doesn’t even come up, though it could have added some dimension to the plot.
There is foreshadowing of the next book in the series, and there is already talk of ass beating. The sex scenes are relatively well-written — as in, not too raunchy. There are some (non-sexual) scenes involving interaction with villains that bring some tension to the story.
The narration was okay. David Brenin does pretty well with the main characters, even giving Abby a nice voice. However, differentiation gets a bit muddy as more characters are added into the story (Zoran’s brothers and some girls Abby invites over after an out-of-town trip).
I got this as part of the romance package. I don’t think I would have purchased this book, and definitely wouldn’t purchase others in the series. I’ve already queued up the next books (except for the ménage) that are available in the package, and I’ve actually finished the second book. I’ll likely return the others unread, especially if the heroes are as impatient and borderline abusive as the one in book 2, and if the heroines are as irritating.