Lisa Lace

Why would I want to be married to an alien? I should not have applied to TerraMates! The idea was crazy. I'm a young woman, in the prime of my life. But I was desperate. When I landed on another world, his appearance intrigued me. He dripped sexuality and moved like an animal. We have three days together before he sets sail without me. Am I going to escape or submit to my desires?

A SciFi Alien Mail Order Bride Romance

Water World Warrior

Lover of Romance 

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance

This was my first introduction to a mail order bride romance---in the stars style. And this was also my first introduction to this author and I am not going to say that this was the most impressive book that I have read all year...however, it was quite enjoyable and I got a fun kick out of it and got me out of reality for the day and I wanted to immerse myself into this read here. What I found most intriguing about this book was the set up. I have only read mail order romances that were set in the wild west in the 1800's. So this was quite different.

Our delightful story begins when our heroine, Ashlyn, is the guardian and care taker for her three younger brothers. When her mother died when she was graduating high school with dreams of becoming a scientist and going to a prestigious university....she had to give up her dreams to take care of her brothers and pay for the mortgage. She has been working as a seamstress, taking night classes slowly working on her degree. But when one of her younger brothers, gets himself in trouble in gambling and a loan shark threatening to come after him and the whole family, Ashlyn knows that she needs to come up with enough credits and there is only one way to do that....agree to be a mail order bride for a alien, live with him for a year but what she gets compensated for will be enough to cover the debt.

Our hero, is having a hard time of it on his own. He has come to some desperation. He is trying to save his world. He has three degrees in the sciences, his world is being overcome slowly by the tides and the water is slowly taking over the land masses. And there is few land properties left, and many refugees and people who are slowly dying. When he learns that someone is rerouting the ships with supplies for the refugees and feeding these supplies to the greedy he abandons his work on the oceans to help those in need and becomes a pirate with a crew he trusts and getting the supplies to those that truly need it. But when his ship crosses into a forbidden shipping lane, to get himself out of prison, he will need to find a wife in a week to get himself out of hot water. Many people are counting on him until they find out who is behind everything. But both Ashlyn and Nathaniel never planned on true love entering into the equation.

This was quite a fun diversion from reality. This is definitely not a five star read, however, it is a delightful read. And I have been wanting to add some more science fiction romance to my reading and boy this book was fun! I really enjoyed the mail order bride trope (I always get a kick out this set up) and I found it was pretty well done. We also have some dream walking that is introduced that I found fascinating. The hero here is quite unique, think merman but without the tail. He and his people are practically born in the water, so they can swim super fast and breathe under water. He is quite like a futuristic alien "Robin Hood" taking from the rich to give to the poor. I found his character quite intriguing especially when he has a nerdy side to him that we only see small parts of.

Our heroine, is strong and capable. She is hard working and loves her brothers. She is still striving to achieve her dreams even if it's a slow process. It appears that she is enabling her brother when he gets foolish, but if she doesn't do what she does, than all of them could be in danger. So I understand, and you see how much she adores her brothers and will do anything for them. But *mini spoiler* this changes her brother, when he sees what she sacrifices for him and he makes some crucial life changes. I loved how intelligent Ashlyn could be, and she goes after what she wants. She takes the initiative at times and I really found these small moments of growth and independence quite endearing.

The romance that develops between Nathaniel and Ashlyn is something I have seen before in the past and really enjoyed. This is an arranged marriage type of set up to their relationship. But there is some great chemistr between them. Nathaniel has to get back on the high seas in a few days, so they try to fit what they feel for each other in just those three days. We see them go on some adventures together, Nathaniel showing Ashlyn his world...dancing together, swimming in his oceans and he teaches her how to sail. There are some tender moments that build. I did feel like they fell into love too quickly and it felt too fabricated to be honest. It didn't feel real enough for the reader, just way too quick. I like insta love, but this one just seemed to be too "on the surface" with not much depth to their relationship. This book is shorter than those I normally read, so that could be a factor.

Another downside to the story was the world building. Now I felt REALLY lost through the first few chapters especially when we are in Nathaniel's POV. This is dual POV, but even in Ashlyn's POV, I felt like there should have been a bit more information placed in the story to help you understand the world. Its more futuristic, but you don't realize that until a few chapters in. I was very confused in some ways, and I am the type of reader that doesn't need much detail to catch on quickly....but I almost put it down because of the confusion. This is the type of story that could have used more information in the beginning to set up the world building more, so that is the one huge factor that I would change to the story.

Overall I found this story to be exciting, set in a futuristic world with aliens, a mail order bride agency, some intrigue and fun times on the high seas and an ending to make you swoon!! A GREAT DELIGHT!







 



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Water World Warrior A SciFi Alien Mail Order Bride Romance

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