Review: Couldn't put it down
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 12, 2013
***** 4 1/2 Stars ********Slight spoilers in this review*** I really enjoyed this book and was immediately sucked right into the story.  I couldn't put it down. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book because I had read the 1 star review that said Nadia was like a dog waiting for her master's affection.  That didn't sound appealing to me as I like the H to pursue the h, so I was super hesitant to buy this.  While I can understand why the reviewer felt that way, I interpreted their relationship differently.I think in many ways it was better than the first book because there was so much tension between the main characters due to Huw denying the mating bond.  He denied the bond because though there's a strong connection/attraction, she isn't a Prime female with his mating mark.  He believes that his true bond mate is out there in the galaxy somewhere and if he bonds with Nadia then he might be denying himself the opportunity to have the kind of connection his older brother has.  So through out much of the book he is trying to fight his attraction to Nadia.  On the surface, this sounds unappealing I know.  However, in reality I found it entertaining. The tension that was between the two of them due to his denial, was palpable.  Nadia is a tough h and she mentally blocks Huw and tries her best to ignore him.  She also decides to date and, of course, it drove him nuts!  It was very entertaining to read!The only negative to the story, and be warned it's a biggie, was Nadia forgave Huw much too quickly. I wanted Huw to grovel and suffer thinking Nadia had finally moved on. The quick resolution after all the build up was very disappointing and caused me to consider lowering my rating. To me, it was a huge let down.  Yes, he was sorry.  Yes, he had a meltdown and went kind of crazy when he thought he'd lost her BUT the duration of his suffering was so ridiculously small in comparison to what Nadia had gone through in thinking he wouldn't bond with her, that it created an imbalance in their relationship.  I really felt like he needed to suffer for WEEKS thinking he'd lost her - NOT HOURS!  She'd suffered for MONTHS! I sincerely hope the author refrains from doing this to us again.  If the H behaves badly, there had better be some good groveling.  That was sorely missed here and did take away from the story.Also, the H does visit another woman, basically a hooker, about 30% into the story.  Visiting a sex worker, aka a prostitute, is acceptable in his culture.  He does this because he is trying to fight his feelings for the h.  At that point they hadn't mated and he thinks about the h the entire time.  The "hooker" does undress him, kiss him and touch him "down below".  He doesn't enjoy the experience and I interpreted it as a "failed" attempt and they didn't "go all the way".  It was more like 3rd base. I hate cheating of any kind but I didn't interpret it as cheating because they weren't a couple and hadn't been together at that point.  They don't actually get together intimately until about 70% into the story.Still, even with the negatives it's a great sci-fi romance.  The sci-fi elements are well described and there's a HEA for this couple. The H was a jealous/possessive alpha who tried very hard to deny it; the h was likeable and strong, and the tension between the H and h was terrific.  All in all, it was a great romance that I will read again.