| Title | : | The Alien's Prize (Warriors of Luxiria, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | ebook |
| Number of Pages | : | - |
| Publication | : | First published February 21, 2017 |
Kate Harper finally had it all back on Earth: her dream job, an amazing best friend, and an apartment completely void of her cheating ex. But when she wakes up chained on an alien planet known as the Pit, her whole reality flips upside down. Here, aliens fight to the death for the right to claim a human female. Even worse? She realizes she’s up for grabs.
Vaxa’an, the Prime Leader of Luxiria, has a duty to his people: ensure their dwindling race’s survival. Infamously ruthless and deadly, the Luxirian knows he’ll have no trouble claiming a female at the Pit. What he doesn’t expect to find is his fated mate, with her lush curves and haunting eyes that call to him, and he’ll stop at nothing to claim her.
When Kate becomes the warrior king’s prize, her only goal is to return to her old life. Certainly not to fall for an overbearing barbarian with a wicked tongue, whose determined to make her his own.
The Alien's Prize (Warriors of Luxiria, #1) Reviews
-
DNF at 33%
Kate and Vaxa
Kate is a chubby 30 year old that Vaxa wins 'gladiator style' for his mate, after she is abducted in her sleep by the aliens who run the arena. The author does try to create a credible 'alien' with an alien culture, but it is still just another 7 foot tall hottie alpha with an impossibly big schlong. Oh yeah, and of course he is the ruler of his world (roll my eyes). I really didn't understand what he saw in Kate. If it weren't for the instant mating lust... She waffles between being the clueless sweetie pie, to an ungrateful stubborn twit, to a lustful weakling. Why isn't she more curious about what's going on around her? Why is she so determined to get back to her boring existence on Earth? Although I did dnf it, I skimmed through a bit to see if it went as I knew it would... no surprises. Stubbornness does not equate to strength of character. It's just bloody annoying.
I LOVE a good 'mars needs women' romance, but this one just wasn't romantic. -
Jetzt weiß ich endlich, wieso ich mit den Büchern von Zoey Draven nichts anfangen kann und sie mich furious machen. :) Sie tarnt es mit einer großen Portion „Es ist meine Entscheidung und ich bin total schlagfertig und biete dem Alpha-Dude die Stirn“.
Aber letztendlich sind ihre Bücher grundsätzlich allesamt extrem frauenfeindlich.
Kinks? Tolle Sache, Enttabuisierung sogar noch besser. Aber Frauenfeindlichkeit ist kein Kink. Und diese zu verharmlosen und zu romantisieren geht GAR NICHT. Genres sind keine Ausrede! Dark Romance, Erotik & Co funktionieren wunderbar ohne. Nur weil ein Loveinterest dominant, alpha und arrogant ist, muss er nicht gleich frauenfeindlich sein. Das ist nicht sexy oder cute oder aufregend, sondern einfach nur gefährlich und verdammt problematisch.
PLEASE STOP IT. -
Not in Kansas anymore!
The following ratings are out of 5:
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙
Romance: 💚🖤💙❤️
Heat: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌍
Character development: 😤😠😳😚
The heroine: Kate - she awakens on an alien world, her and other human women are naked and taken to a coliseum where they are put on display for aliens that battle to death in order to choose one of the women. The first fight is brutal and the winner chooses Kate and immediately takes her onto his spaceship and leaves with her. All she wants is to get home to Earth again.
The Hero: Vaxa’an - He is the Prime Leader of Luxiria, whose females had mostly died out in a plague that only affected the females of the population. He goes to fight for a female breeder but is not too happy to find out that they are only offering human women, who are small, weak and only known as pleasure mates. However, he needs to show his people that the only way to continue their race is to mate with other species.
The Story: Vaxa’an is surprised to find his fated mate among the human women and immediately chooses her as his prize. He knows that not all his people will accept a human as the mate of the Prime leader, but he is determined. Though Kate only wants to go back to her home planet. So he makes a deal with her that if she goes to his planet and lives with him as mates for one month and still wants to return home, he will get her safe passage home.
This book was told in both characters points of view using dual narration. The narrators were Sierra Grace and Tristan Josiah. Both are good narrators, though Tristan Josiah has a softer voice than I would like for a hugely muscled, 7 foot tall alien warrior. I expected his voice to be deep and gravelly. Sierra grace has a clear voice which sounded age appropriate for Kate and she did a fine job.
I liked the story and the fact that Kate was attracted to Vaxa’an and didn’t fight their attraction or act like a prude like in some romance books. Though I wish the women in these books would sometimes just enjoy the fact that they are traveling though space and going to a whole new planet and enjoy it more instead of always whining about going home. I mean why not get to know your new life and worry about getting home later if you still want to. Especially when they have no family left on Earth.
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I enjoyed Kate and Vaxa’s story it was charming and incredibly hot.
Here Kate awakens to a new reality kidnapped by Aliens and potentially a future as a slave.
Kate is offered up as a prize in the Pitt and Vaxa a luxirian and prime leader on his planet is here to compete for a breeder.
The female population of his race has been decimated by a virus and the remaining woman are now infertile.
It’s a fight to the death which he of course wins but rather than getting himself a breeder his instinct recognises Kate as his Luxiva his fated mate.
So this isn’t a long read it’s a bit instalove in nature and the sex sciences here are incredibly graphic and hot.
It’s not really a complicated story but it was enjoyable and if your after something that’s isn’t really angsty just with lots of feel-good vibes this is the story for you.
This ends in a HFN and Kate and Vaxa’s story is concluded in the next book.
Though technically you could actually stop here as this did give you closure and the next book is more of a continuation of the resolved story and there is no cliffhanger, Overall this was an easy light quick read.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com -
In the past week I have been really unsettled, stress in work is making my anxiety play up a little bit and one the really frustrating things happens with it is that I desperately want to read but I struggle to do so. I struggle to pick what book I want to read (even narrowing down a genre is difficult) and then I struggle to focus and end up putting the book down after a few chapters, sometimes pages to have to come back to later. Even books that I really wanted to read.
And this past week my anxiety has been messing with. I started no less that 9 books, including Six of Crows which I have been desperate to read, and I still wasn't able to get past the first chapter. So I went back through the books that I really enjoyed reading both this year and last year to find some inspiration. What I found is that when I cannot focus to save my life, Sci-Fi/Alien Romance is the way forward! They are (usually) easy reads, with some plot but nothing overly complicated, detached from my reality, emotional but not super angsty and filled with smutty smutty goodness.
And The Alien's Prize did not disappointed. It delivered all that I needed to help me get back into that head-space where I can read. Which for me is so important, because that is my haven and helps me deal with the world so much better. I really struggle when I feel like I am losing that.
Vaxa and Kat(e)'s story was a good read, I enjoyed the characters and their development, how they dealt with conflicting cultures and how they got together in the first place, and there is just enough of a plot that I am off read the next one right away! -
Heroine annoyed me.
-
**1.5/5 stars**
I picked up this book in the first place because I wanted to eventually read the related series called Horde Kings of Dakkar. I heard some good things about it and I thought, why not start from the very beginning? To understand all the references and possible characters? Now I understand that Warriors of Luxiria was, I think, the author's first series of books so I'll try not to be too harsh but it was very hard for me to finish this first book if I'm being honest. It wasn't that the plot was bad per say, but it was terribly generic and boring.
Essentially, it was every alienverse premise with an abducted woman who was sold to some alien male who would happen to be her fated mate. While the hero tried to make her understand they were meant to be, the heroine was hell bent on going back home. Generic stuff. But fact is, even if it is overly used, I actually like this premise but I also like when the author builds around it and give an original spin to it. Here, there was no real worldbuilding and not much character development.
I couldn't stand Kate. If at first, when she was naked and chained in the pit, she seemed to be down to earth and practical, she revealed herself to be wishy-washy pretty quickly in the same chapter. She was stubborn, whiny and horny. She had the worst case of body betrayal. Her inconsistency is what bothered me the most. Her moods constantly changed. One minute she was defiant, the next she would be horny, then she would feel betrayed and annoyed, then she would teach Vaxa'an how to kiss, just randomly? To being stubborn again, to making a deal, to feeling horny, and so on. And all of this happening within a few days. Intimacy happened almost immediately. She wasn't very smart either. “Now, what do you mean you’re the ‘leader of your people.’” He means he's the leader of his people 🤓“I will protect you and any offspring we will have. I will provide for you. I have riches that you cannot fathom. I will take care of you and you will never want for anything, Kat.”-Vaxa'an
As for Vaxa'an, he was very dominant but not in a good way. He lied to Kate, didn't really care about her feelings, and trapped her with his deal that seemed somewhat innocuous, but omitted important information. He seemed very manipulative and selfish and I just couldn't like him. And don't get me started with that semblance of a choice he gave to Kate in the last chapter, after . Like there was nothing respectable about him, and he was super pushy all the time. Not sexy at all.
To make it worse, they had absolutely no chemistry whatsoever. The sad part is that the steamy scenes weren't all that bad. It just sucks that there was no real build up to those scenes. The best example I can give is in adult movies when they give a little shitty plot at beginning but we all know the main goal is to get to the sex scenes...well this was pretty much it. There was so much smut but it was flavorless because the characters were just bland and there was no real connection between them. For being fated mates, there was a serious lack of passion.
✔️HEA/HFN
✔️Standalone
✔️Fated mates
✔️Dual POV
✔️MC's age
✔️Possessive/ Dominant H
✔️Wishy-Washy h
✔️No OW/OM
✔️No cheating
🔥 Steam level: 3.5/5
⚡Content warning
I wish the plot had been more polished. Everything felt rushed and there was a serious lack of original worldbuilding around the already generic premise. Potential wasted for the sake of smut. I'm pretty sure the next book in this series is a Part II to this couple, which I won't be reading. Sorry. -
There was a lot of setup with little follow through. The characters never really got to know each other, so Kate’s decision to want to stay didn’t so much feel as her choice as the bond making the choice for her.
When it is revealed that Vaxa’an lied to her, she is angry for about five minutes. There was all this tension, but it never burst. It just kind of fizzled.
The Alien’s Prize is an immersive set-up for the rest of the series. Between the world and brief character introductions, I am excited to continue.
★★★ -
Hmm, I started this because I read the new series the author has about the Dakkari Horde Kings and that one was good, it was pretty great actually and just what I needed and while waiting for the next book in that series I wanted to check out more of this author.
Now, with all that in mind, I am disappointed. Her writing or more precisely her storytelling has dramatically improved.
This book was mainly smut and the whole fates mates business was a cop out from writing an actual storyline where 2 characters meet and fall in love.
I mean... which human woman stands on a platform in an arena, naked, bound and on display in fear of being raped by whoever wins the fight - and during that time she starts feeling hot and bothered by one of the aliens( a guy that is 7 feet tall and has horns) ... as I said absurd, bad for the story, I should and would have stopped there but I decided to quickly get through it since I can skip the sex and oral scenes (because they make up 60% ) of the book.
It was boring, I didn’t feel a connection to the characters the story was absurd in the details meaning the author chose to implant easy devices to make it all run smoothly - language implants lol fine I’ll take it...
But seriously there wasn’t anything much in there except him telling her she is his destined one every other paragraph, side characters acting wowed by that fact, her thinking about having sex with him and creaming herself every 5 minutes all the while not understanding what is going on with her LOL... yeah .. In case you’re wondering that is the story, the whole plot, the action lol
It all sounds bad and I painted a not so great picture buuuut I still give it 3 stars because honestly in comparison to similar novels, this one did not venture into areas of abusive treatment of women, quite the contrary which sounds weird considering how the story started, but I gotta admit it was not entirely bad and it had redeeming qualities. Just too much sex and I don’t mind it at all usually, but this one just had tooo many scenes like that it made it boring,
The thing is, I’m not gonna get book 2 that is about the same couple but I wanna see if book 3 is an improvement.
I know the author can do better since I’ve read her other work so I’m thinking this series could get better too. -
I liked it but.....sigh. There's a sequel/kind of cliffhanger, and if you don't know my reviews, I LOATHE cliffy/serial stories with the heat of a thousand ghost peppers.
Here's my caveat - if there's an overarching storyline with each book focusing on a different couple,
Couple stories that go over more than one book?
BUT, in terms of alien sci-fi rom, the dangerous setup is actually relatively mild, so no fears of any really gruesome scenes, and the action-adventure isn't the focal point. I enjoyed the relationship between Vaxa'an and Kate. There's some familiar butchering of English phrases, general setup of this 'verse. It was familiar yet comforting, and there are moments that can be horribly problematic that aren't so bad, so there's that.
I have to say that I still enjoyed the storyline and the promise of future story enough that I'll ignore my irritation with the sequel and judge it on its merits, so I'm willing to continue with the series.
I reserve the right to come back and love this harder IF the sequel really improves the story and doesn't just drag it out. We'll see. -
Missed opportunities abound
I personally enjoy alien romances very much. However, this was not a prime example of what the genre can do.
Zoey Draven is also the author of the Horde Kinds of Dakkar series, the second volume of which is one of the best romances in the genre. This first book in the series, though? Not so much.
The plot: human woman captured by nasty ugly aliens is put in a cage with other women to be won as sex slaves by alien gladiators. The protagonist gets picked by an alien King whose species is dying out and carted back to his home planet, where they consummate their stale union.
The characters:
Vaxa'an is Prime Leader (king, basically, since he inherited the position. Though apparently he can be challenged for the throne) of Luxiria. His planet has been victim of a bio-weapon that killed most females and left the rest infertile, 10 years ago. He sees it as his kingly duty to be the first dude on his planet to get himself a foreign queen, since the xenophobic Luxirians have to procreate somehow and they will follow his good example. A human breeder was not what he hoped for, as he sees humans as weak and smol (despite never having met one). Why none of his male subjects were horny enough to move off-planet and get a foreign wife in the past decade remains a complete mystery. 10 years is an awfully long time to jerk off alone, even if you are a raging racist who hates every other species in the galaxy.
Kate is human and horny. She wants to go home.
Vaxa and Kat (as they call each other, since they can't be bothered to learn to say the names correctly) are as bland and boring together as they are apart. Their romance is unconvincing. Kate has no motivation except going home, but the author fails to give readers a good feeling for why she is so desperate to get back to Earth. Sure, everyone has friends and family. But please, SHOW US what she's missing.
I have spent several years abroad and far away from my friends and family, mostly with little contact, and I would do that again, any time. If, for some reason, I had ended up stuck there forever with no way back, I would have accepted that after a while and moved on. Despite family being important, it is not the number 1 priority for every single person on the planet. If family and friends are a big thing for a character, I need to see why. Was she very close to her family? Did they meet every week, cook together? Have special rituals and habits? What about her friends, did they have some hobbies to share? And so on.
Kate gave us very little to go on, both in terms of her personal biography (her biggest life events, her goals, her wishes) and also in terms of personality. She was like an empty, horny room. Which made her rejection of Vaxa very tedious, because I saw no reason for her to not give in.
Vaxa, on the other hand, was mostly just his status and duties, and had little quirks beside that. In his own way, he was as tiresome and unoriginal as Kate was.
The trope of the prize woman is a favorite of mine, and the author did try to actually discuss the trope toward the end of the book, where Kate questions Vaxa on whether he can really call himself a defender of women, when he cared nothing for where the women in the gladiator pit came from.
That was the one good conversation in the book, which needed to happen. Unfortunately, the rest of the book was bland garbage and so uninteresting I doubt I'll remember anything by next week.
To make matters worse, Kate and Vaxa get a superfluous sequel (two books for one couple that is this bland? Blergh), despite their story being done and me being done with them.
Ugh. -
It wasn’t bad writing. I love this authors Horde Kings series and that might be why this one failed for me. This book just seemed to be too much on erotica content than story. Add in that I found the heroine unlikeable and that’s why I just didn’t enjoy this book. I highly recommend trying her Horde King series.
-
When I picked up this novel,I didn't expect mutch.I did thought there will be usual story that will climax at some conflict before heroes will get their HEA. So,I expected at least a big puff of smoke but got small fart instead.Absolutely nothing happens,there is no story,no conflict,no climax,nothing.Just a tiny fart on a bookshelf.
I am convinced there is a word for women who "think" purely with their holes.That is our main heroine. She is vain,dumb,whiny,weak willed and completely ruled by her need to rut.
Main male hero is.....hmm,he was so insignificant and shallowly portrayed that he left no impression at all.
So the story goes-1 page of heroine realising she have been kidnapped and then won in a very short fight.At that point she have a fleeting thought that she should go home but her female bits take over all thinking and that's about it.The whole story.
I lost a few brain cells trying to read through this,so,please,read with caution. -
I’m rounding this up to 4 ⭐️ why? I’m not entirely sure... maybe it’s to do with the fact that once i had finished reading it I kept thinking, “I wonder what happens next?”
It was a fast paced alien HEA. Did I tell you previously that I’m not really into the “whole” alien sci fi romance? 🤷♀️😆 anyway, I had previously read the authors Horde King series & really loved all three of them and thought I’d try this series. I quite enjoyed it to be honest. I don’t think it will appeal to most of my friends even though they all appreciated the horde king series. Like it or loathe it, it’s an easy 200 odd page read that will keep you occupied in between the dreaded home schooling #lockdownsucks 😂😂 have I turned weird??? Maybe 🤔 -
I had just finished this new to me author's book, Captive of the horde king, which was fairly good. So I thought I’d try this one. This book wasn’t bad, wasn’t great and certainly wasn’t original but will fill my guilty pleasure sci fi fix well enough. Wasn’t as good as the Horde King book, but there is six books in this series and they are short reads, so moving on to the next.
-
Hmmmmm.... first off I’ve read Draven before and really enjoyed her. This one felt far too much like Horde Kings of Dakkar. When an author has various series I look for them to be different and this was not. It was far to much like book one of the Horde Kings series.
FMC was too easy. She put up no fight. Like at all. I love a chase. A little angst. Some sarcasm and wit. She was just bland. Sadly.
MC was hot as hell and saved the book from a lower rating. I did find him intriguing and he definitely left me wanting more.
Usually with a series you’re introduced to some strong secondary characters but alas there were none. I don’t even remember any additional characters names and that’s a bad sign for me.
Probably be a while if I pick up book 2.
Happy reading,
DD💕 -
I will start this review by saying that I intend to read the next book in the series.
With that said I have to admit to only marginally enjoying this book.
The hero was a selfish jerk. He redeemed himself in the last 10% but the initial impression was hard to shake. He never really gives the heroine any choices.
Heroine makes hero realise he could do more for the other human women, but he doesn't begin to act on that conviction until 4 weeks after he's taken his bride.
So...Meh.
Fated Mates
Recommended as filler -
I think, having read Draven’s more recent books, it’s become clear that she has become an amazing author over the last few years.
Although I enjoyed this, it was too insta-love for me (esp for the heroine). -
Real talk - this book is essentially was IPB would be if they had a choice about addressing their female 'issue'.
Binged the entire series. See my full series review in book 8. -
3.5 ⭐
Quien iba a decir que los aliens son tan adictivos. -
Is this the worst book of this genre I have read ? No, there are real stinkers out there and I have encountered more than few . Is it any good ? Definitely not. This is a dull paint-by-numbers in dull shades of beige. Two particular things filled my eye-rolling quota:
1. He constantly addresses her as " female " and she calls him Vaxa. Now, in Russian Vaxa means wax so I could not get the image of furniture polish out of my mind and there is nothing enticing about a can of Mr Sheen.
2. Note to NASA - in any future attempt to communicate with possible alien life forms, forget Vitruvian man, periodic table or mathematic equations. All you need are images of couple having sex , penis and vagina, because apparently, no matter which part of space you are from, f..k, c..k and c..t are universally common terms and have the same definition even in the Galaxy far- far away. You may not know that in their language " xrellexax" means hovercraft, but mention " f..k" and you are on the same page Language barrier breached. -
3.5 stars
The Alien's Prize was book 1 in the Warriors of Luxiria series. While not necessarily original it was an enjoyable Alien romance. I really liked Vaxa'an he was a sweet and caring male. Kate had moments that annoyed me but overall she wasn't that bad and did I enjoy the book. I probably will continue this series at some point. -
I didn't like the whole guy saying: "you are mine, you belong to me" business because personally, it gave me the icks. Despite that, I LOVED the ending and I just might continue the series.
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DNF. Just can’t do this one.
-
Edited.
So I read like all the books now on the 8th and now I realize that Kate was the definition of a pain in the ass.like she was so stubborn.like I get it you got stolen from your planet ( where you meant absolutely nothing) and you had a shit life and that your mom put you up for adoption and didn’t want nothing to do with you but sis that’s no reason to be so like that grow the fuck up .Vaxa’an idk what he saw in miss Kate but he could of gotten better . Ik Ik he got her to repopulate his planet and all but still he definitely deserved better but he wasn’t the best either.like carrying her on your shoulder like she’s a sack of potatoes while she’s butt/coochie showing naked and then Still call her your mate? She for everybody at that point. And the more you read the series you start to realize that it was not the best book. It was a 5 star book but now it’s just 4 because no -
This book is free this weekend, starting 8/12/22!!! I already read the entire series, but I will definitely get a free copy because it is so great I want to read it again.
Kate is rescued from aliens who are using female humans as prizes for the winning warrior in a fight. Vaxa'an (it took me the entire series to realize that his name is Vaxa, Kate isn't just mispronouncing his real name, the 'an is his family name ;) ) chooses her and soon realizes she is his fated mate.
He agrees to take her back to Earth after she's been on Luxiria for a period of time and gone through the marriage ceremony (!) but of course Kate falls in love with him and stays.
But here is the most hilarious part of this book and why I love this one specifically: if I remember correctly Kate doesn't have sex with Vaxa right away but he discovers what she likes that is not sex and sort of uses that to make her realize they're in love (it's not as non-con or dub-con as it sounds) I laughed out loud when I got to this point, about halfway through:
"I told you I want to talk, we are *not* kissing" - Kate
"Yet, he corrected. Come, female, you are obviously irritated with me. Let me soothe your anger in the bathing pool *I will be creative*" - Vaxa
Oh the "creative" line made me laugh .,..
Try out this series, it's wonderful and it's on KU. -
Ok usually I don't like alien/sci-fi romances but I actually really liked this one. So Kate is abducted from her home on Earth only to wake up to a nightmare of epic portions. She is on an alien planet, chained, naked and about to be sold? Then we meet Vaxa'an, Prime Leader of his planet, 7 ft tall, golden/silvery skin with a ridged tongue and a penis that emits opalescence cum? Hell yeah! Lol. He goes to a planet and participates in a fight to win one of the women because of a plague on his own planet, that eradicated most of their women. Little did he know that he would encounter his life mate, Kate. I really fell into this story and loved how Vaxa'an wanted only to protect and cherish Kate. Poor Kate was scared, confused and only wanted to go back home. So they set an agreement to be together for a month with Vaxa'an praying and hoping that she will change her mind. This story ends in a cliffhanger and I am interested in reading book 2 with this couple. I totally enjoyed it. 4 stars.
-
At first, I thought it was like Venomous, which was quite a nice read, but do not be misled.
This story has a very unlikable female protagonist, one of the worst I read. I get that it is a difficult situation, being kidnapped and then won, but I still dislike the way she behaves. The only thing she knows how to do is to whine and demand. Her desire to go home is understandable, the fact that she demands that everything goes her way is delusional. While most other people would try to make the best out of their situation, try to get along with the other people, build good feelings, this one here acts as if the planet should stop turning just because she says so. She is utterly childish and this behaviour would work even less in reality. -
Read - April 2019
Re Read - July 2020
*
I read, and really liked, Captive of the Horde King, so I decided to pick up another book from this author.
I liked how primal their relationship was - like something in me speaks to something in you, and that basic urge overtook everything else.
This was basically smut though haha. I generally prefer my books with a little less sex, and more angst or plot.
But I enjoyed this haha, and I like this author. I like her writing. It’s so easy to read.
I don’t think I’ll read the next in the series though... I prefer stand alone romances. I’ll skip to the third in the series to read about new characters. -
I honestly have no idea how to review this. I didn't expect much, but what I got was oddly sweet. Kinda Stockholm-y? There's a lot of intergalactic Twilight similarities (insta-mating3eva, blood sucking, and sparkly bodily fluids), but this is ... I have no words.
It's a quick read. And there's aliens ... who are kinda hot?
It's cute. But weird. But cute.
