Review: Great start to the series :D
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 12, 2013
4.5-5 starsThis was a great story! I have to admit that I wasn't sure what to expect but figured it would be a fun read. It was so much better than just fun! It's the first I've read from Lolita Lopez but I enjoyed this book so much I'm already planning to buy book 2 so I can continue the series. This story actually reminded me a bit of Kristen Ashley's The Golden Dynasty due to some similar elements but there are many differences that do make it very different overall (i.e. It's not as dark of a read as GD and also it's more on the scifi spectrum than fantasy).Hallie is a smart and spirited woman. She does what she believes right regardless of the consequences and tries to take care of others. She gets drafted in to the "Grab" (a race where alien warriors chase women to capture one and make her their wife) through a lottery that her village takes part in. She's not happy about it and decides to try to make it for the "safe zone" which, if she makes it there, will ensure she's sent to the colonies as a free woman. Unfortunately for her, Vicious sees her making her pans to escape and is intrigued by her intelligence and beauty.Vicious is a colonel in his his people's arm. He's worked hard to achieve his current position and one of the benefits of his achievements is the right to take part in a grab to get a bride. He had an idea of what his perfect woman would be but as soon as he sees Hallie he knows no one but her will do. His task isn't easy, as she's fast and almost makes it to the safe zone before he captures her but in the end he makes her his.When Vicious captures Hallie, he takes her back to his ship with him. She's scared and doesn't have a clue what to expect, fearing violence and worse. Vicious realizes that she wasn't thrilled with being in the grab but doesn't expect her fear of him to be so great. He is gentle with her (promising not to hurt her) and sets about to woo her...then what starts as sort of a forced seduction soon becomes mutual desire. Vicious comes to care for Hallie right away and in a way it makes sense because he's been raised a warrior from the age of 5 and hasn't had much kindness or sweetness in his life. His women in the past have always been paid women who are only there for an hour or 2 and then gone. He's been longing for a wife, someone he can care about and build a family with, for quite a while. When he finds Hallie and realizes she's the one for him, he's willing to do whatever he can to make her happy. He's very sweet for a big badass warrior. Hallie is tentative at first but realizes that Vicious isn't a bad guy and she makes an effort to work things out with Vicious, hoping they can be happy together.Although both Vicious and Hallie are willing to make things work, it doesn't mean everything goes smoothly. There are cultural differences to get past and well as the fact that they barely know each other. While they hit snags, they also both make an effort to figure out what went wrong and how to work things out. There are some fights and other difficulties but none of the issues usually last long because when one arises, either Vicious and Hallie will realize something is wrong and go about trying to discover how to fix it. I really enjoyed seeing them get together and working out their relationship and I really loved how things turned out in the end. There is some last minute danger that almost causes issues but the ending is great and has a very sweet and satisfying HEA.This is a great book. I loved both Vicious and Hallie and enjoyed joining them on their journey to their happy ending. I'm definitely going to be reading the next book in the series. I'd recommend this book. Thumbs up! :D