Red-Haired Ash Reads

TW: Vivian was abducted, raped, abused, and tortured by alien enslavers.; death, attempted kidnapping, violence, torture, gore, blood. 

Commander Zha Quin Tha is next in line to the throne. His people are the Cruestaci, a warrior race who bow to no one and because of that they have been deemed too violent to be a part of the United Consortium Defense – the organization responsible for keeping peace between all peoples and worlds. When he is contacted by the Consortium to intercept a slave ship and rescue the kidnapped women held on board but return them to the Consortium, he thinks nothing of it until he meets the human female who refuses to back down even as she is struggling to survive. 

Zha Quin Tha, or Quin as he ends up being called by Vivian, is Sire to the Cruestaci (basically prince), Commander of the Command Warship 1 and is used to getting his way. He is an extremely protective alien who as soon as he meets Vivian he realizes that she is his one, his Ehlealah, which is basically his fated mate. Quin was protective but he never became overbearing, which was great. I especially loved how patient Quin was with Vivian and that he let her set the pace of things. 

Vivian was an extremely strong woman. She was kidnapped by aliens, raped, beaten, and tortured, but she continued to fight back the whole time. I really liked Vivian and how smart and strong she was. Since she doesn’t trust Quin in the beginning, we see her manipulate the freedoms he gives her to use against them, and it was very amusing seeing her cause a bunch of alien men to lose their minds with worry as they tried to figure out where she was. Seeing Quin get all protective of her was sweet, but what really made me love him was when he stayed back and let her fight her own battles because he is there to protect her. 

“You make me feel, after so many years of not feeling anything at all. I cannot consider going back to that.”

Vivian and Quin’s relationship was slow building but wonderful. They are fated mates but for Vivian it doesn’t mean love right away. Quin was patient with Vivian during his courtship of her and it was wonderful to see him take his time and never get angry at her over her PTSD or fears, instead he admired her strength and ability to survive, which just made me love him more. One of the things I did like about the beginning of this relationship was the communication issues at the beginning. They have to use the ship’s computer to translate everything that is being said, but the computer is already doing that normally in the public areas because of all the different species on the ship. I do think this is something that a lot of sci-fi books leave out though so I always appreciate it when I do come across it. 

“You have turned everything upside down. You do the opposite of all protocol. You have everyone unnerved and on edge because no one knows what to expect from you next…And with each moment, with each exasperation you cause me, I love you more than the moment before. I am more committed to you than any other male has ever been committed to any other female — my parents included.”

Overall, this was an enjoyable alien romance even with its darker themes. I will be reading the next book to see what alien falls in love next. Also, I wonder if there will be more dangerous alien animals because I really liked Kitty.

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