Review: Courtship Done Alien Warlord Style Leads to Fast-Paced Adventure and Romance- Engaging and Humorous Read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 5, 2014
I anticipated the fun this book would be when I had a chance to read it with its overbearing, gruff, but loving warlord hero and the sassy, savvy, and 'seat of the pants' lucky human heroine out to save the galaxy while playing chase with each other.  And it didn't disappoint.  Within the opening pages, I was snorting with laughter and falling in love with a pair of new characters.This is the fourth book in the Coletti Warlords series, but it is written in such a way that it can be read out of order or as a standalone.  Jaylen, the hero, is a recurring character from the beginning, but his role was minor enough so that the reader can pick this one up and not be lost.The story opens with Bree working the desk for the Earth First secret mission group that she and her adoptive commando father started to save all the psychic human females from being taken by the Coletti as mates.  Their organization has been so successful that the Coletti Overlord has sent Jaylen to hunt down their bases and destroy them.  Jaylen finds her and senses the base, but Bree has a few tricks up her sleeve to show the Coletti that he takes a bit too much for granted.Unfortunately, her snazzy bit of zigging and zagging garnishes her his undivided attention and now his hunt takes on a more personal nature to make her his mate.  During their unique brand of courtship involving cattle prod, manure dump, skunk bombs and a whole lot of chase, they are interrupted by a Tai-Kok attack on earth.  The Tai-Kok snag Bree to use against Jaylen, but that is the beginning of their new adventure on a hostile alien world where everything including the trees will eat you.  It's during this survival portion of their courtship that they start to come to terms despite the interruptions of several deadly members of the populations, some Coletti mercenaries and an Askole assassin.  All in a day for these two, right?The plotting on this one bares strong resemblance to the ones that have gone on before it and yes I would go so far as to say its formulaic.  But hey, once in a while I enjoy being able to count on things going a certain way in my story.  That being said, this one didn't quite end the same way the rest.  There was a cliffhanger that will take us into the next book.  I enjoyed the blend of never-stop action with human, the intro to the odd alien creatures that are encountered, the back and forth between the main characters and the connection to the familiar past characters.The pacing has its slower periods, but for the most part it doesn't stop.  Even the passionate scenes are explosive, but fast.Speaking of the passion, this one gets up to some hotter than usual sexy time gymnastics.  Truthfully, if the stories have a weak spot, its the character and romance development.  By this I mean that the heroine and hero are pretty much the same from opening to exit and there isn't much time given to them getting to know each other or achieving personal growth.  The connections are not able to be fully established.  However that is not the case in this story.  I am pleased to note that a bit more care was taken to develop a deeper connection between Bree and Jaylen.  They do get beyond the 'you're mine' to the 'I need you'.  Of all the couples in this series, these two demonstrated a more true partnering.  They worked together and had mutual respect.  It really helped that they shared more scene time.  I think the author really stepped it up a notch in her writing with this story and I was so glad to see it.So even though this one was a shorter segment in the series, it offered all of what I enjoy when I read it and achieved more depth.  Those who enjoy passionate, fast-paced space adventure romances should give this book and the series a try.  I can't wait to find out what comes next.