Alien Attraction is a light, fun, steamy story with a desperate reality show star, an equally desperate horned alien, an unscrupulous show producer, and a lottery for gaining a mate on an icy, barren planet. What could possibly go wrong?
I am so glad Ms Bristol decided to turn Alien Mate into a series. After reading the first book, I felt Torq's brother, Darq deserved a story too., and here we are with Alien Attraction. Another fun installment to the alien mail order bride trope.
Poor Sunny. She's been put into an impossible position. Her detestable producer has signed her up to be the mate of an alien on a distant planet to boost show ratings and put her on another "excellent adventure". Sunny doesn't think it's so excellent and only does it because of her love for her family. The fact that she has to deceive a poor, unsuspecting alien who is hopeful of a true mate doesn't sit well with her at all since she will be leaving as soon as her contract is up. I liked that Sunny tried many times to confess the truth to Darq even as she was thwarted time and again by her producer. That went a long way in making me feel a lot more positive towards her. Sunny is a genuinely nice person. She loves her family and will do anything for them, and she cares about Darq and his feelings. It helped that she eaten up by guilt over the deceit she had to pull over Darq. And when she's faced with a dangerous, difficult situation, we learn she's also strong, resourceful, and determined.
I
had to remain aloof, couldn’t allow myself to become attracted to an
alien, or to allow one of them to become emotionally attached to me.
They deserved mates whose intentions were as honest as their own. What
I was doing wasn’t right. It didn’t matter I hadn’t had a choice, that
Apogee had forced me—or that I had to do this for Devon. As much as
possible, I had to avoid misleading my alien.
Darq is a sweetheart, but he's so lonely he'd do anything to gain a mate. As a result, like Sunny, he's not so squeaky clean himself. He did do something rather underhanded to get Sunny. But aside from that, he's warm, caring, funny, and protective. And gorgeous! Let's not forget gorgeous because he's called Mr Tall, "Darq," and Handsome for a reason. *smirk* He's intent on caring for Sunny the best way he knows how. Like Sunny, his guilt at what he's done eats at him, and I was glad when they cleared the air between them. He's responsible enough to accept and deal with the consequences of his actions which cranked him up several notches in my estimation of him. Most of all though, I loved that he's such a big, cuddly bunny. His affection and charm completely won me over. I'm totally okay with him looking after me.
“Thank
you for dinner. It-it was wonderful.” My mouth had dried. “You’re
welcome. I enjoy taking care of my mate,” he said. “You don’t need to
take care of me.” I’d taken care of myself for as long as I could
remember. What if I leaned on someone else? The idea beckoned with
insidious seductiveness. Even if I had wanted to rely on a Terran man,
I could never trust he would be dependable. He’d vanish when I needed
him most. I sensed Darq wouldn’t do that. He looked surprised. “Of
course I do. It is my job—but also my pleasure. It’s only natural.”
This story hit the spot for me after a few rather stressful reads. Even though it touched on topic I particularly disliked, it was handled well, and I didn't get put off by Sunny's deception towards Darq and vice versa. I liked that they both struggled with their guilt and keeping secrets from each other, and came clean at the first possible opportunity. For someone who has not finished books in the past because of the deception theme, how Ms Bristol handled this contributed a great deal to my enjoyment of the reading experience. And bonus points to Ms Bristol for simply telling a good story I can enjoy without bringing politics and social issues into it.
From what I can tell at the end of this book, Stormy, Sunny's sister's story is next. I'm super excited to see who picks her or who she picks in the mate lottery, and I sincerely hope it's not the Dakon she had her eye on.
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Thank you for the great review. I loved how you summed up the story: "Alien Attraction is a light, fun, steamy story with a desperate reality show star, an equally desperate horned alien, an unscrupulous show producer, and a lottery for gaining a mate on an icy, barren planet. What could possibly go wrong?"
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked the review.
DeleteI seem to have a soft spot for alien stories like this. I've read a few various series, but this is the first time I've heard of this one. I like the sound of this one and the fact that her producer signed her up for ratings?! I did sort of chuckle at that. I would have been livid if I were her.
ReplyDeleteKristin @ Book Sniffers Anonymous
Kristin, thank you for visiting. Yeah, this one was super fun.
DeleteI've read a few of her books and have loved all that I've read so far. I'm looking forward to this one it sounds great.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, her books are great. She's one of my favorite sci fi romance authors.
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