This year has been my space romance extravaganza. Months of consuming a crazy amount of blue/purple/horned/maned aliens with tricked out genitals. I enjoy the culture clash, the understandable communication misfires and the human or alien adapting to an environment completely out of their experience.

Velia is an engineer working on an ultra secret project with alien allies. She comes into contact with a different race of alien that cast doubts on what she has believed.

Jape’s people have been at war and he has suffered too much loss. He hates the enemy aliens and the humans that work with them. Jose and Velia are brought together and the clash these two have is pretty great.

I liked the misconceptions these two had to get through in order to become something more. I wish there was more showing than telling. A couple examples: we’re told how hard Velia worked to be the best engineer. You can assume she is at the top of her field to be included on the uber secret super duper classified project, but the most she ever does is look in the back of alien kitchen appliances. Her huge accomplishment comes off as “tinkering”. Also, the big bad of the story didn’t have the presence I expected to see.

Velia Farrah, works as an engineer at a secret military base, trying to figure out the design and technology of an alien portal. One day she is kidnapped by a gold-skinned alien from Risnar and is taken back to his home planet. Jape Bolep knows that humans and the species Monsuda invaded his planet and killed his fellow warriors. He's prepare for some payback. But the Earthling Velia is like any female he's ever met before.

Why I started this book: I've recently discovered the joy of a good space opera... the drama, the romance, the chance to explore entire new worlds and societies. So requested this title from Netgalley based on the cover and the hope of a new adventure.

Why I finished it: ARC guilt. If a publisher is going to give me a copy, I am going to do my best to read it... even if it's embarrassing instead of campy. What kind of person is kidnapped by aliens and is more concerned about their misogyny than the potential of returning home? Plus culture shock is a huge thing even if you are just moving to a new country... magnify that a little when moving to a new world. You know, little things like that distracted me from the story.

Engineer Velia Farrah always wanted to see an alien up close. Now that she’s assigned to study the top secret portal linking Earth to other worlds, she’ll get her chance. But when a fierce, gold-skinned alien from Risnar leaps from the portal and whisks her back to his home planet, “up close” takes on a whole new meaning. Believing Earthlings had killed his fellow warriors, Jape Bolep is determined to destroy Earth’s access to Risnar once and for all. Grabbing a curvy handful of a human wasn’t part of the plan, but he has no intention of letting her distract him from his need for vengeance—no matter how much he aches to make her his.When I started reading I couldn't put it down.Tracy St. John is magnifysent writer.I cannot wait to read more of there books.Keep up the great work.You should definitely read this book.