Review: 3.5 stars for a good story, but left me wanting!
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 11 20, 2013
This review is a bit contradictory because what I loved about this story, made it quite lacking at well.*SPOILERS*The excerpt does a good job describing the story and how the hero (Xenos) was throughout the book, I loved that he was an alien crossbreed who looked and behaved like it. So many times, I've read the 'lazy- I-don't-want-make-my-audience-uncomfortable-version' of sci-fi romances where the only things alien about the characters are their names and customs!nLike the excerpt states, Xenos is jaded and hardened emotionally and I like that the author remained true to that definition of who he was. He grew up in a lab where he was tortured, experimented on, and reared where he never had any positive emotional contact with anyone. And, because of how he looked, he was always on guard with everyone. Moonlight entered the picture, offering him her body for her mother's freedom, but she was disgusted and revolted by who he was and how he looked. Sure, her body responded to him sexually even though she hated, but he knew how she felt, so beyond the physical demands of his body, his overwhelming purpose was tied to his mission to defy his leaders and to stop the breeding and testing in the labs. So building on the sexual desire, Moonlight became interested in the Xenos the person. Now some readers might see her interest as being one-sided as she made most of the overtures in the relationship, but while I do get that sometimes as readers we want to see reciprocity to 'even' a relationship, in this case I understood why it couldn't be so. To accept the relationship, you had to remember who Xenos was, how he grew up and the events that shaped his life. He never knew love, tenderness,acceptance, or even a relationship and he also was insecure therefore all approaches had to come from Moonlight. Moonlight was strong in that she didn't need the scorecard. I thought that she took responsibility for the fact that SHE wanted him and in her internal dialogue, we see she accepted the challenges and came with being with someone who was so closed off.That being said, I think the author missed the mark with Moonlight's overall development. I didn't feel like I knew enough about her and it made her character a tad bit underwhelming.The story also focused too much on the rebellion/mission and even though Xenos and Moonlight's relationship was developing, it was merely based on their sexual compatibility. Every time they came together, it was about sex. This is my contradictory peeve, because while I like how focused the author was on maintaining Xenos character, the story ultimately is a romance, and there could've been a little more on the romance side without necessarily jeopardizing the storyline. Also, the sex scenes were very repetitive...in fact, after the first one, every other scene felt like it was cut and pasted with just a word change here and there. Xenos basically did the same things, Moonlight gasped the same words over and over!!There are a few graphic elements that a potential reader should be aware of. It's not too crazy or overly descriptive, but it is there.Finally, the end of the book left much to be desired. I felt like the author was detached from the romance side and it showed through in the end. Nevertheless, its a book that I recommend!