Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: A bit
Perspective: First person from both hero and heroine, alternating chapters (with the last chapter from Ashley’s perspective)
Cliffhanger: No
Epilogue: Not really – there is a final chapter from a side character perspective who will have her own story
Percentage where mains are first on page together: 9%
Format: read an e-book advanced reader copy from the author

Should I read in order?
I would say yes. Her Alien Warrior series and Treasures of Trillume series are rather intertwined. I’d love for her to come out with the perfect reading order at some point. The romance itself can be read as a stand alone but there’s a lot of world building and character mentions of other stories. Ideally, I would read Her Alien Exchange, Jewel of the Alien Bandit and Her Alien Prince to get the best understanding of the politics, cultures and world building.

Basic plot:
Riley joins the Human Exchange Trade because there is nothing left for her on Earth – when her vessel is hijacked, she finds herself relying on warrior Direl.

Give this a try if you want:
- science fiction romance
- alien/space setting
- human heroine/alien hero pairing
- higher technology (DNA samples taken quickly, chips inserted for language)
- light love triangle
- light fated mates feel
- medium steam – 4 scenes with knotting, some primal play, blood play, but most is together at the end

First line:
Staring at the numbers highlighted on the screen above my head, I took in a breath and sat down.

My thoughts:
This is another truly immersive scifi romance by Robert! I am finding these complex and deep with a decent amount of character depth and lush world building.

I love the idea of the Human Exchange Trade and mates being found that way so I was really excited for this novel. Direl is such a sweetie – so gentle, protective and takes time when Riley needs it. Riley is smart and strong and is an amazing addition to the fight for what is right among these alien races. The beginning of the book had so much that I loved and I really enjoyed getting to know both our mains in the first quarter.

There were a few things here I don’t think I was in the mood for at this time – I felt a bit overwhelmed with all the world politics and wanted more focus on just Riley and Direl (definitely just a personal preference). I know we also had alternating chapters between the two mains, but I felt like we didn’t get as much from Direl and I always want more hero.

I have a couple other things to mention but I’ll mark it as spoilers…
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A few minor things I wasn’t a fan of – the med bay necia offering herself to the hero, the heroine kissing another warrior as a distraction, after the duel the heroine having to lick the blood from her defeated foe, the way Nen-Le and Direl fight over Riley the first scene and it turns into an FFM scene...

Now, part of it is just me adjusting to this alien race. Exhibitionism and confidence in nudity are big for their races and I am still pretty new to that as a kink so maybe I am just getting used to it. For me, there’s a bit too much sharing among the mains.

The FFM scene I could have really loved but I think it was the uncertainty behind it all that stopped me from being all in. There were these lingering feelings of is she (Nen-Le) good? Is she bad? And the competition between Nen-Le nad Direl – I think if they had agreed on it from the beginning I could have relaxed a little with the scene but as it was I think I was just too tense??

All that said, I still enjoyed a lot about this one and am really excited for more from Robert. I feel like she’s building a truly unique alien world and culture dynamic here that I haven’t come across yet in science fiction and I love that!

Cock/Hero Stats/World building:

- Trillume species (a side character specifies) have no hair, even the females and must wear masks to thrive with Earth’s oxygen
- Necia species (hero’s species) are warriors and are known for being a bit rough
- Necia have large spikes called epuls on their bodies (shoulders,) and are considered living weapons.
- Necia females are aggressive and territorial over their males and many times stronger
- on Trillume quadrants have been created on the planet to support various species by using forcefield nano nets that control the environment
- Necias have 2 hearts
- Males go into rut
- Necia speak Cial (heroine trained in it for a year before entering the program)
- They have a thick dermis and lethal secondary skeletagl structure, long hair that is only cut during battle or used in braiding talismans for their tribe
- They have strong senses of hearing and smell and can hear the blood pumping through veins
- They have fangs and claim mates by sharing blood
- Eyes are a golden amber color similar to citrine
- They go into rut when their reputation as a warrior is challenged or they accomplish a victory (it’s used to have a public display of pleasure for other warriors to view their prowess)
- To calm down rut, they will ‘bathe’ with each other (NOTE: There is a scene where a side character basically fingers herself and rubs it in the hero’s mouth as an offering
- Female necia have spikes all over their bodies
- Only female necia warrios have veno to help them claim their mates
- Cock is curved with nodules along the shaft and 2 tiny nubs at the base that stimulate the clit
- necia males have a knot
- when mating, there is some blood play/drinking each others blood – the human heroine ends up losing her canines and growing larger fangs to help her feed

Quotes/thoughts:

“I’m not going to try to eat you if that’s what you’re worried about,” I joked, though he didn’t appear to be the joking type.
“Your teeth density would not be strong enough even if you were hungry and tried to do so, but again, you would most likely die if you moved,” he said in seriousness, only confirming my suspicions about his ability to joke, until he lifted a brow and added, “But if hunger isn’t your motivator, then I gladly offer myself for you to fill your mouth with my flesh.” He grinned to show me his canines, and my attention was drawn back to the large lump between his legs, spread wide from restraints on his ankles for my viewing pleasure.
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Love the touch her and die vibes from the get go

I rubbed at my wrists, my once captor gently scooped them both up in his large hands and kissed my bruises from his tight hold as if in apology, before the whole scene was cut short with the smell of burning flesh.
It wasn’t mine.
I glanced around Chuel to see my cell companion struggling against his bonds, uncaring of how the straps around his neck, biceps, wrists, and calves sizzled with electricity coursing through him. His once amber eyes were black, and terrifying, making me stumble back in alarm.
Chuel caught me about the waist, and the fury of my criminal companion intensified, only now horns grew out of his scalp pointing downwards that must be some sort of exoskeleton defense of the necia, but I was more worried about the pain the warrior was going to feel, after all the shocks to his system he was getting for moving within restraints that would have kileld a human instantly.
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“They wish to see us mated, to see that you have claimed me. Pulsunne, all you must do is take me.”
 

Content warnings:

- infertility
- hero is drugged and imprisoned
- possible feelings of infidelity – there’s some level of tension between the mains and the heroine kisses another warrior as a distraction to get away – but this does follow with an open relationship type of FFM scene – the necia aliens have some feelings of protection and jealousy but are way more open sexually and with their bodies
- death of an almost mate remembered, poisoning
- death on page

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:

 
Safe sex? 

There is mention of female space condoms (they are folded and slipped inside and they melt with the body heat to create a film that is a barrier to the uterus. Eggs still fall through but it prevents the seed from getting to the egg. 

 
21% - heroine kisses another warrior as a distraction to get away while being held on a ship
30% - kisses
34% - 🔥 the heroine ‘bathes’ Nen-Le (a female side character) then Nen-Le, Riley and Direl are kissing, fingering for Riley from Nen-Le, oral for her from Direl, Riley gives oral to Nen-LE (exhibitionism in front of 3 rescued humans)
71% - 🔥 ‘rakture’ – a bit of primal play battle when Direl is in rut – leads to a bit of a fight between them, physically with an audience. Heroine bites the hero, then they go to the forest. She goes on top holding his shoulder spikes
78% - 🔥 fingering for her, wall sex
83% - 🔥 fingering/oral for her, sex