Title: Cassandra’s Challenge
Author: M. K. Eidem
Series: Challenge #1
The Earth has been destroyed and there are only two survivors, Cassandra Chamberlain, and her niece Victoria. They were saved by the Carnians, an alien race that was trying to save the earth from the Regulians. Cassandra and Victoria are taken under the wing of Admiral William Zafar and his son, Lucas, but the danger follows them from Earth.
I love alien invasion stories, especially when it involves hunky aliens. While I did enjoy this story from Eidem, I still prefer her Tornian series. I enjoyed the romance between William and Cassandra. They have an instant love, they call it Life Mates, and the story is basically them working out their relationship while dealing with the destruction of Earth and a traitor.
I liked Cassandra, for the most part. She was smart, caring, and determined to get justice for the destruction of Earth. I was surprised by her lack of reaction to the destruction of Earth and her family. We only get a few scenes where she is upset about it and I do wish we had a little more of a reaction. William was the strong, protective alpha male. I really liked him, especially how he kind of adopted Victoria as his own. Also you should know that William is a lot older than Cassandra (50 to 25) but it never bothered me . I just know some people will have issues with this.
While I still prefer the Tornians, it hasn’t stopped me from rereading this series multiple times either (I think I am on reread 5 now). As with all of Eidems books you need to expect plot holes in the story but I read these for the romance between the characters, not a solid plot line. If you are looking for some great alien romance I suggest picking up her Tornian series. If you like her writing then pick up this series, it’s not for everyone but there is still some magic in this series as well.
Trigger Warning: Death of everyone on planet Earth, including Cassandra’s family. Poisoning of a child.
Red-Haired Ash Reads 