Usually in romance/m-m sci-fi, the human-alien communication barrier is completely ignored. There are auto-translators or universal languages. Sometimes authors don’t even bother to explain how different species understand each other, probably due to a reasoning that the focus of the story is elsewhere. Eileen Glass does not ignore the communication barrier – rather, she uses it very effectively to build a story from three different point of views who can not understand each other fully (even the two aliens have communication problems due to their personal history). The result is a surprisingly complex and layered narrative, in which each PoV have a unique contribution to the story. The characters are endearing, especially sweet and curious Pykh, and the pace of the plot is intense. The book does have several truly disturbing descriptions of abuse in alien captivity, but overall, a very recommended listening (the performance is excellent, by the way. The three different PoV have each a unique voice and accent and there’s no problem distinguishing between the three).