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Mate of the Tyger Prince #1
Mate of the Tyger Prince
Diplomatic marriages between two members of different planets certainly aren’t unheard of—but for Prince Mikos of Tygeria and Col. Ryan Donnelly of Earth, it might just be a fate worse than death. The union is meant to end a devastating war that has lasted for over a hundred and fifty years, but when the female bride intended for the fierce, sexy prince runs away, her handsome brother is substituted instead. Men are for mating as far as the Tygerian prince is concerned, but the colonel also happens to be Mikos’s sworn enemy, not to mention being completely irritating.
Ryan is horrified to learn that the Tygerians not only expect him to take the place of his sister, marry the Bloody Prince of Tygeria, and go to live with him on his mysterious planet, but they also expect him to undergo physical alteration to have the man’s baby! And nobody is taking hell no for an answer. Ryan’s being asked to turn his whole life upside down and the handsome Tygerian gets under his skin like nobody else. But with the fate of the universe at stake, how can he say no? Can the two enemies put aside their differences and focus on making love and not war—not to mention a baby? As a powerful love struggles to take root, can they learn to trust each other and stand together against the forces that are trying to tear them apart?
Ryan is horrified to learn that the Tygerians not only expect him to take the place of his sister, marry the Bloody Prince of Tygeria, and go to live with him on his mysterious planet, but they also expect him to undergo physical alteration to have the man’s baby! And nobody is taking hell no for an answer. Ryan’s being asked to turn his whole life upside down and the handsome Tygerian gets under his skin like nobody else. But with the fate of the universe at stake, how can he say no? Can the two enemies put aside their differences and focus on making love and not war—not to mention a baby? As a powerful love struggles to take root, can they learn to trust each other and stand together against the forces that are trying to tear them apart?
243 pages, ebook
First published January 19, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
July 20, 2018
Reread: 21st July 2018
Still delicious as ever. Was in the mood for a fluffy mpreg and I missed Blake so had to reread this. So good.
I absolutely loved this book. I knew I’m going to love this book since my besties Lorraine and Lyn gave this book 5 stars. I love you ladies. 😍 My favorite Mpreg book of all time is The Prince's Consort (Bred for Love #1) by Revella Hawthorne aka S.J. Himes and this book comes almost head to head with my favorite mpreg book and all my friends know that’s saying a lot. 😊 Everyone knows that I’m quite stingy and fastidious with my rating. 😂 But holy guacamole! I really really loved this book. 😍
This novel has just the perfect amount of insta attraction, angst, love, lust and sex. Oooh .. the smut is just yummy and steamy. Soooo good. 👏
Ryan is a colonel from Earth and the son of the consul of Alliances nation. He recently lost almost all of his unit in a battle with Lycans and he’s recovering from his injuries. He’s now on a small neutral planet which served the purpose of negotiating treaties between galaxy planets to attend the wedding of his sister. And this wedding will bring an end to a hundred and fifty years long war between the Alliances nation and the Axis and will be able to build peace between these nations. And ironically, as fate would bring it, the brother of the bride became the bride and not just bride for anyone, the bride for the Prince Mikos of Tygeria who is notoriously known as the bloody prince on earth and the archenemy of Ryan.
Prince Mikos is fierce, strong and a very brave warrior who has been going to war since he was 15 years old. He was the youngest ever Dyson aka the battle commander of Tygeria and also the crown prince. Although it’s for peace, he loathed the idea of marrying a woman from earth as all males from Tygeria prefer other males as their mates. And he couldn’t be happier when the bride ran away and the brother of the bride became his husband. The thing is, while he was expecting Ryan to be a submissive, good, little, obedient househusband, what he actually got is a sassy mouth, sharp-tongued, sarcastic former soldier who’s set to do everything against what he says. 😁
The relationship between these two is funny, witty, sexy and dynamic. Their banters are simply jolly. 😂 I love how they started to fall for each other and the interruption of a good amount of angst while their lives were going so well. It really helped the book not being overly cheesy and fluffy. Nothing’s wrong with fluffy though ~ I love my romances fluffy 😁 but this is an extremely emotionally well balanced book. And I mean who wouldn’t like giant aliens with cat like eyes who have massive dongs and are excellent lovers? 😜 Miko’s seduction of Ryan is geniusly erotic, titillating, sexy and naturally lusty. 💜 I really can’t find any fault with this book. 👏 I really really love it. I finished this book within 4 hours in one go and that’s how much I enjoyed it. I’m glad that Mikos and Ryan were able to overcome their differences and the broken trust in the end. Very very well and cleverly written book. I will finish the whole series and I will look for more of Shannon West’s books in the future.
Favorite excerpt from the book:
(PS. This one cracked me up so bad .. the best banter EVER!!! 😂😂😂)
Is this what I have to look forward to? Riding herd on little Tygerians for the rest of my days?”
Mikos snuggled him closer. “You can ride this Tygerian whenever you want to.”
Ryan slapped his shoulder. “That was so bad.”
“Mm, I can be good,” Mikos said, 😁
5 sexy macho dominant obsessive Tygerian stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Still delicious as ever. Was in the mood for a fluffy mpreg and I missed Blake so had to reread this. So good.
I absolutely loved this book. I knew I’m going to love this book since my besties Lorraine and Lyn gave this book 5 stars. I love you ladies. 😍 My favorite Mpreg book of all time is The Prince's Consort (Bred for Love #1) by Revella Hawthorne aka S.J. Himes and this book comes almost head to head with my favorite mpreg book and all my friends know that’s saying a lot. 😊 Everyone knows that I’m quite stingy and fastidious with my rating. 😂 But holy guacamole! I really really loved this book. 😍
This novel has just the perfect amount of insta attraction, angst, love, lust and sex. Oooh .. the smut is just yummy and steamy. Soooo good. 👏
Ryan is a colonel from Earth and the son of the consul of Alliances nation. He recently lost almost all of his unit in a battle with Lycans and he’s recovering from his injuries. He’s now on a small neutral planet which served the purpose of negotiating treaties between galaxy planets to attend the wedding of his sister. And this wedding will bring an end to a hundred and fifty years long war between the Alliances nation and the Axis and will be able to build peace between these nations. And ironically, as fate would bring it, the brother of the bride became the bride and not just bride for anyone, the bride for the Prince Mikos of Tygeria who is notoriously known as the bloody prince on earth and the archenemy of Ryan.
Prince Mikos is fierce, strong and a very brave warrior who has been going to war since he was 15 years old. He was the youngest ever Dyson aka the battle commander of Tygeria and also the crown prince. Although it’s for peace, he loathed the idea of marrying a woman from earth as all males from Tygeria prefer other males as their mates. And he couldn’t be happier when the bride ran away and the brother of the bride became his husband. The thing is, while he was expecting Ryan to be a submissive, good, little, obedient househusband, what he actually got is a sassy mouth, sharp-tongued, sarcastic former soldier who’s set to do everything against what he says. 😁
The relationship between these two is funny, witty, sexy and dynamic. Their banters are simply jolly. 😂 I love how they started to fall for each other and the interruption of a good amount of angst while their lives were going so well. It really helped the book not being overly cheesy and fluffy. Nothing’s wrong with fluffy though ~ I love my romances fluffy 😁 but this is an extremely emotionally well balanced book. And I mean who wouldn’t like giant aliens with cat like eyes who have massive dongs and are excellent lovers? 😜 Miko’s seduction of Ryan is geniusly erotic, titillating, sexy and naturally lusty. 💜 I really can’t find any fault with this book. 👏 I really really love it. I finished this book within 4 hours in one go and that’s how much I enjoyed it. I’m glad that Mikos and Ryan were able to overcome their differences and the broken trust in the end. Very very well and cleverly written book. I will finish the whole series and I will look for more of Shannon West’s books in the future.
Favorite excerpt from the book:
(PS. This one cracked me up so bad .. the best banter EVER!!! 😂😂😂)
Is this what I have to look forward to? Riding herd on little Tygerians for the rest of my days?”
Mikos snuggled him closer. “You can ride this Tygerian whenever you want to.”
Ryan slapped his shoulder. “That was so bad.”
“Mm, I can be good,” Mikos said, 😁
5 sexy macho dominant obsessive Tygerian stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
January 7, 2016
What this book has going for it is the DOWN & DIRTY.
The steamy scenes are a little rough and a lot sexy. Ryan and Mikos go at it hard and furious. Mikos is the first man Ryan’s been with, so there’s butt-sex virgin action too.
Mikos is Tygerian, and Ryan is human. The Tygerians, tall, buff, and striped, are mostly male, and nearly all the men prefer other men. They have developed technology whereby a man can carry and bear a child.
You know what that means: M-PREG.
I like the idea of inter-species mating, but the story wasn’t well executed.
For one, there was a lot of telling. Especially at the beginning, we get pages and pages of info dumping explaining the setting, Tygerian customs, the war between Tygerians and humans, the role of a “nobyo” (mate), etc.
One character says something, and the other launches an internal monologue explaining the conversation:
The first half of the book is dedicated to Ryan acting like a bratty tween, which is only slightly less annoying than Mikos acting like a complete douche in the second half.
I was bored by the political intrigue storyline. Ryan is framed for an attack. Mikos doesn’t believe him when Ryan claims he had nothing to do with it, even though Ryan is his husband and mate.
Then Ryan realizes he’s carrying Mikos’ baby and …
*cues soap opera music*
I also thought the shifter aspect of the story was entirely unnecessary.
Mikos is a tiger (Tygerian, get it?) shifter and shifts once in the story. The idea is given zero page time and in no way furthers the plot.
It’s sort of randomly thrown in there, but the book has enough going on already, what with the space opera, aliens, gay for you, mates, deceitful servants, kidnapping, one of Ryan’s dads throwing hissy fits left and right, and m-preg.
Bottom line: sexy but heavy on melodrama and light on character and relationship development.
The steamy scenes are a little rough and a lot sexy. Ryan and Mikos go at it hard and furious. Mikos is the first man Ryan’s been with, so there’s butt-sex virgin action too.
Mikos is Tygerian, and Ryan is human. The Tygerians, tall, buff, and striped, are mostly male, and nearly all the men prefer other men. They have developed technology whereby a man can carry and bear a child.
You know what that means: M-PREG.
I like the idea of inter-species mating, but the story wasn’t well executed.
For one, there was a lot of telling. Especially at the beginning, we get pages and pages of info dumping explaining the setting, Tygerian customs, the war between Tygerians and humans, the role of a “nobyo” (mate), etc.
One character says something, and the other launches an internal monologue explaining the conversation:
“Don’t show your temper to me, young man. I realize that the full moon is close, but …. ”
His [father] was right—the full moon on Tygeria was in only a few days. A full moon was an event that happened only three times during a full cycle on their planet. Tygerians weren’t able to see their moon because of the thick, permanent cloud cover ….
The first half of the book is dedicated to Ryan acting like a bratty tween, which is only slightly less annoying than Mikos acting like a complete douche in the second half.
I was bored by the political intrigue storyline. Ryan is framed for an attack. Mikos doesn’t believe him when Ryan claims he had nothing to do with it, even though Ryan is his husband and mate.
Then Ryan realizes he’s carrying Mikos’ baby and …
*cues soap opera music*
I also thought the shifter aspect of the story was entirely unnecessary.
Mikos is a tiger (Tygerian, get it?) shifter and shifts once in the story. The idea is given zero page time and in no way furthers the plot.
It’s sort of randomly thrown in there, but the book has enough going on already, what with the space opera, aliens, gay for you, mates, deceitful servants, kidnapping, one of Ryan’s dads throwing hissy fits left and right, and m-preg.
Bottom line: sexy but heavy on melodrama and light on character and relationship development.
November 6, 2017
This is going to sound crazy, but I ended up loving this book for all the reasons I usually end up hating a book.
The MCs, Mikos (alien) and Ryan (human) seem to always be bickering. Ryan is nothing short of a drama queen, which doesn’t really fit a character who is a Colonel and a soldier. Mikos does his best to pacify Ryan, but the two of them can’t seem to stop disagreeing with one another. There is a lot of OTT drama in this book. Normally a book like this would leave me exhausted and frustrated. Instead, I found myself laughing and looking forward to the craziness. I don’t’ know if it was because I liked the author’s writing style or because the author has a knack for making the over dramatic so funny. Whatever the reason, I’m hooked!
The MCs, Mikos (alien) and Ryan (human) seem to always be bickering. Ryan is nothing short of a drama queen, which doesn’t really fit a character who is a Colonel and a soldier. Mikos does his best to pacify Ryan, but the two of them can’t seem to stop disagreeing with one another. There is a lot of OTT drama in this book. Normally a book like this would leave me exhausted and frustrated. Instead, I found myself laughing and looking forward to the craziness. I don’t’ know if it was because I liked the author’s writing style or because the author has a knack for making the over dramatic so funny. Whatever the reason, I’m hooked!
April 7, 2016
The problem with this is that the author sets up these pretty cool situations and scenarios, then fails to deliver in a massive way. Instead, this book was filled with lazy writing, convenient plot devices and stupid bloody timejumps. I didn't have a problem with them before I read this!
I made this list as I was reading because I was so cranky and didn't want to forget anything.
- there are so many plot holes, like how he was injured at the beginning but no other mention was made of it, and how in one moment, his old unit all died, and the next, he could join them again.
- the timejump was so massive and sudden and ridiculous and was obviously only used to explain why Ryan was suddenly all in love - but it actually made things more confusing. The dialogue between the two after this timejump didn't really make sense - it made more sense if there'd been no timejump, ie, the conversation was something they definitely would've already had. And the second timejump was also just like a convenient break, with absolutely nothing happening in that time.
- for three months, Ryan did nothing but have sex in the morning, have a bath, then wander around gardens all day? That is so ridiculous and unbelievable. He used to be a military man, and he seemed pretty convinced he'd earned those medals at the beginning. So as if his character would be fine being treated like a caged bird! At least, he would've made an effort to learn that language, not that anyone ever really spoke it. Everyone seemed to automatically speak 'Earthian', so the languages were just a plot device the author trotted out when it was convenient.
- also every single rank in the story was colonel - kinda makes it seem like the author doesn't know any other military ranks
- Earth was written like a super progressed Earth, as in, Earth a few hundred or so years down the track, yet the homophobia in this story makes it seem like Earth was stuck back in fifty years ago? Maybe if there'd been some explanation for this, but there wasn't - once again, it was just a good plot device to use
- I thought the idea of these Lycan and Tyger planets was cool, but a bit poorly planned out. Tigers and wolves are Earth animals - yet no relationship between them and their alien counterparts were ever mentioned. And also, the shifting itself was mentioned like twice and then never again. Why have it at all if it's not something important to the plot?
- another reviewed mentioned the huge amount of info dumps, but I went into this with an open mind - I tend to info dump in my writing, so I wasn't gonna judge someone else. But omg, it was bad. It'd be in the middle of sex scenes, action scenes, EVERYWHERE. Just paragraphs and paragraphs of info dumping, sometimes repeating itself.
- So by about 50%, I was kinda getting over this. But then that twist happened that I didn't see coming, and I was suddenly really interested again! And apart from a few plot holes, I was enjoying it again for about 30% more, then the resolution to this twist was such an anticlimax, I was back to being over this.
- the relationship between the two of them is pretty abusive. Like, as soon as Ryan goes to talk about anything serious, Mikos pretty much patronises him. It happens so many times and it is so obvious, I have no idea how anyone could have written some of that seriously.
However all up, I'm giving this book two stars because it did keep me hooked in places, even if I was low-key frustrated for most of it. My housemates were beginning to get annoyed with me yelling 'OH MY EFFING GOD' at my kindle. But by the end I honestly wanted to give this about -10 stars. Jaysus.
I made this list as I was reading because I was so cranky and didn't want to forget anything.
- there are so many plot holes, like how he was injured at the beginning but no other mention was made of it, and how in one moment, his old unit all died, and the next, he could join them again.
- the timejump was so massive and sudden and ridiculous and was obviously only used to explain why Ryan was suddenly all in love - but it actually made things more confusing. The dialogue between the two after this timejump didn't really make sense - it made more sense if there'd been no timejump, ie, the conversation was something they definitely would've already had. And the second timejump was also just like a convenient break, with absolutely nothing happening in that time.
- for three months, Ryan did nothing but have sex in the morning, have a bath, then wander around gardens all day? That is so ridiculous and unbelievable. He used to be a military man, and he seemed pretty convinced he'd earned those medals at the beginning. So as if his character would be fine being treated like a caged bird! At least, he would've made an effort to learn that language, not that anyone ever really spoke it. Everyone seemed to automatically speak 'Earthian', so the languages were just a plot device the author trotted out when it was convenient.
- also every single rank in the story was colonel - kinda makes it seem like the author doesn't know any other military ranks
- Earth was written like a super progressed Earth, as in, Earth a few hundred or so years down the track, yet the homophobia in this story makes it seem like Earth was stuck back in fifty years ago? Maybe if there'd been some explanation for this, but there wasn't - once again, it was just a good plot device to use
- I thought the idea of these Lycan and Tyger planets was cool, but a bit poorly planned out. Tigers and wolves are Earth animals - yet no relationship between them and their alien counterparts were ever mentioned. And also, the shifting itself was mentioned like twice and then never again. Why have it at all if it's not something important to the plot?
- another reviewed mentioned the huge amount of info dumps, but I went into this with an open mind - I tend to info dump in my writing, so I wasn't gonna judge someone else. But omg, it was bad. It'd be in the middle of sex scenes, action scenes, EVERYWHERE. Just paragraphs and paragraphs of info dumping, sometimes repeating itself.
- So by about 50%, I was kinda getting over this. But then that twist happened that I didn't see coming, and I was suddenly really interested again! And apart from a few plot holes, I was enjoying it again for about 30% more, then the resolution to this twist was such an anticlimax, I was back to being over this.
- the relationship between the two of them is pretty abusive. Like, as soon as Ryan goes to talk about anything serious, Mikos pretty much patronises him. It happens so many times and it is so obvious, I have no idea how anyone could have written some of that seriously.
However all up, I'm giving this book two stars because it did keep me hooked in places, even if I was low-key frustrated for most of it. My housemates were beginning to get annoyed with me yelling 'OH MY EFFING GOD' at my kindle. But by the end I honestly wanted to give this about -10 stars. Jaysus.
January 4, 2016
First I want to be perfectly clear and upfront. Pride Promotions is doing a tour for Mate of the Tyger Prince, and I got a copy of this book from the publisher as an ARC for the bloggers who are taking part.
When I got it, I tried really hard to be good. I desperately wanted to read it, because I love Shannon's books, and because it has a very toppy tiger shifter (and those who know me, know how much I love both toppy and shifters!)
This book has a lot of everything I love. I never really got into MPREG until I read another book by a different author, but then I found it was actually pretty fun. This book showed me how it's more than just fun, it's a definite draw for me!
If you like shifters and Alpha men, you'll enjoy this book as much as I did.
When I got it, I tried really hard to be good. I desperately wanted to read it, because I love Shannon's books, and because it has a very toppy tiger shifter (and those who know me, know how much I love both toppy and shifters!)
This book has a lot of everything I love. I never really got into MPREG until I read another book by a different author, but then I found it was actually pretty fun. This book showed me how it's more than just fun, it's a definite draw for me!
If you like shifters and Alpha men, you'll enjoy this book as much as I did.
November 29, 2017
My friend Shin suggested I read this and after having seen it had interspecies sex and mpreg I was sure I would love it. I didn't.
Mikos is the prince of Tyger , his planet has been at war for year with Ryan's planet, Earth. The council on both sides decide it's time to call a ceasefire and end the war. Ryan's father draws up a marriage contract between Ryan's sister, Allison, and Mikos, only for them to find out that she has basically bailed. To prevent retaliation to what would be seen as an insult to the King of Tyger, Ryan is offered in her stead.
One of the reasons I was really excited for it was the interspecies sex, I would have ignored the rest if the sex was epic but sadly it wasn't. Call me weird but when I'm reading a book with different species, I want something more than just a "sable" colored dick. Blow my freaking mind with something different, throw some knots in there, double dick works too, something,anything,.
Another thing that did not make sense was the information about Mikos being able to shift to a tiger, I just didn't get it. It had no bearing on the story, none whatsoever. It is mentioned a couple of times and he shifts only once. Mikos never tells Ryan about it and its never brought up.
Overall, it did not fulfill my expectations, my friend loved it so you might as well. Read her review
here
Mikos is the prince of Tyger , his planet has been at war for year with Ryan's planet, Earth. The council on both sides decide it's time to call a ceasefire and end the war. Ryan's father draws up a marriage contract between Ryan's sister, Allison, and Mikos, only for them to find out that she has basically bailed. To prevent retaliation to what would be seen as an insult to the King of Tyger, Ryan is offered in her stead.
One of the reasons I was really excited for it was the interspecies sex, I would have ignored the rest if the sex was epic but sadly it wasn't. Call me weird but when I'm reading a book with different species, I want something more than just a "sable" colored dick. Blow my freaking mind with something different, throw some knots in there, double dick works too, something,anything,.
Another thing that did not make sense was the information about Mikos being able to shift to a tiger, I just didn't get it. It had no bearing on the story, none whatsoever. It is mentioned a couple of times and he shifts only once. Mikos never tells Ryan about it and its never brought up.
Overall, it did not fulfill my expectations, my friend loved it so you might as well. Read her review
here
January 12, 2016
So I will start if this review by saying I thought the world this author created in this book was amazing, I loved it! Warning this book has MPEG which I know some like and some do not so I just wanted to put a little warning. I will say I thought the way this author handled it in this book was very good.
Prince Mikos was supposed to marry a woman to end the war. But the woman ran off which left only her brother to marry.
Now I loved these two men together! Yes there were moments I got frustrated with Mikos and the way he was treating Ryan. But all together between the caring, love and the protectiveness they both have for each other made me love them as a couple and root for them through this whole book.
There was action in this book along with so much steam between these two men which was so hot!!!
I loved the way this author wrote this story and these characters! This book grabbed me from the start and I could not put it down. So I will leave this review with... I really loved book and would recommend it!
I received this book free in exchange for an honest review from Inked Rainbow Reads.
Prince Mikos was supposed to marry a woman to end the war. But the woman ran off which left only her brother to marry.
Now I loved these two men together! Yes there were moments I got frustrated with Mikos and the way he was treating Ryan. But all together between the caring, love and the protectiveness they both have for each other made me love them as a couple and root for them through this whole book.
There was action in this book along with so much steam between these two men which was so hot!!!
I loved the way this author wrote this story and these characters! This book grabbed me from the start and I could not put it down. So I will leave this review with... I really loved book and would recommend it!
I received this book free in exchange for an honest review from Inked Rainbow Reads.
January 23, 2016
2.5 Stars
This was my first, other world book with Alien species. I have read many "shifter" books but not shifter Aliens..I have to admit I almost stopped reading it, but I stuck it out. I think the idea of the story was a good one but it was just a little too far out there for me, plus I really don't like books that it feels like the author wrote a m/f book then adjusted to m/m - I like my characters well defined and with their own personalities. This book had a lot of sex, a lot of attempted alpha male characterization but not a lot of substance. All we know for sure is there is a planet known as "Tygeria" and The Prince of Tygeria is being wed to an colonel from Earth to form an alliance and stop a 150 year inter galaxy war.
Mikos is The Prince of Tygeria, known as "The Bloody Prince" is to marry The Chief Consul of the Alliances daughter, in an attempt to secure peace between Tygeria and Earth. Mikos and his omak (male mother) have traveled to the Alliance space station where the marriage will take place thus securing the alliance and a mate for the Tigerian Prince. The problems start when the daughter elopes before she can wed the Prince, thus forcing the Consul to find a substitute or forgo the Peace Treaty.
It isn't a secret that Tygerian men prefer to be with men, relegating women to simple breeders...however, the world has progressed so much that even men can become pregnant with body modifications so women are not even needed for reproduction. So it is perfectly fine with Mikos when the Consul suggests that The Tygerian Prince wed his son Colonel Donnely. Ryan Donnely, on the other hand has always preferred women he has no desire to marry a man nor have his body modified so he can produce heirs. However, when the fate of two worlds rests on his shoulders he agrees, for a trial of one year. Thus the mate of the Tygerian Prince has been found..but it is not a HEA for the couple as trouble seems to follow them and Ryan doesn't submit to the Princes desires as easy as Mikos wants or requires.
Overall, the story needed more depth for me to rate it higher. It just felt lacking. So yeah, my first and probably my last Alien Love Story!
*ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review. Reviewed by JLoves2Read from Alpha Book Club
and Gay Book Reviews
This was my first, other world book with Alien species. I have read many "shifter" books but not shifter Aliens..I have to admit I almost stopped reading it, but I stuck it out. I think the idea of the story was a good one but it was just a little too far out there for me, plus I really don't like books that it feels like the author wrote a m/f book then adjusted to m/m - I like my characters well defined and with their own personalities. This book had a lot of sex, a lot of attempted alpha male characterization but not a lot of substance. All we know for sure is there is a planet known as "Tygeria" and The Prince of Tygeria is being wed to an colonel from Earth to form an alliance and stop a 150 year inter galaxy war.
Mikos is The Prince of Tygeria, known as "The Bloody Prince" is to marry The Chief Consul of the Alliances daughter, in an attempt to secure peace between Tygeria and Earth. Mikos and his omak (male mother) have traveled to the Alliance space station where the marriage will take place thus securing the alliance and a mate for the Tigerian Prince. The problems start when the daughter elopes before she can wed the Prince, thus forcing the Consul to find a substitute or forgo the Peace Treaty.
It isn't a secret that Tygerian men prefer to be with men, relegating women to simple breeders...however, the world has progressed so much that even men can become pregnant with body modifications so women are not even needed for reproduction. So it is perfectly fine with Mikos when the Consul suggests that The Tygerian Prince wed his son Colonel Donnely. Ryan Donnely, on the other hand has always preferred women he has no desire to marry a man nor have his body modified so he can produce heirs. However, when the fate of two worlds rests on his shoulders he agrees, for a trial of one year. Thus the mate of the Tygerian Prince has been found..but it is not a HEA for the couple as trouble seems to follow them and Ryan doesn't submit to the Princes desires as easy as Mikos wants or requires.
Overall, the story needed more depth for me to rate it higher. It just felt lacking. So yeah, my first and probably my last Alien Love Story!
*ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review. Reviewed by JLoves2Read from Alpha Book Club
and Gay Book Reviews
July 27, 2018
**grm**
Meet Ryan an high officer of the Alliance, with a stubborn personality, a strong character and with clear opinions. Then meet him again few pages later, when he becomes an useless person, that can't decide anything for himself, that doesn't have any personality and is a submissive little human. I knew he was still a man only bcs the author talked about di*cks and bal*s. I didn't feel the love btw the MCs, I didn't like how they were together and I wasn't a fan of Mikos' attitude(mostly in the part where he didn't believe Ryan). I would have liked to see more feelings and less sex(that bordered on non-consensual). The plot was stupid and the only char that made sense was Blake, but sadly he was in few pages.
These "aliens" seemed guided by their lower parts and also if they talked about love, mates and all other romantic things, I only saw them trying to dominate their mates, to controll them and I really didn't like this kind of relationship. For me in a relationship there isn't an owner and an owned, but two equals.
I remember now why I had this book on my "reading" list and had put it aside... Now I started this series again and I Have to finish this, bcs I don't want any more "dead bodies" on my list, but I really hope that the sequels are better.
2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
Meet Ryan an high officer of the Alliance, with a stubborn personality, a strong character and with clear opinions. Then meet him again few pages later, when he becomes an useless person, that can't decide anything for himself, that doesn't have any personality and is a submissive little human. I knew he was still a man only bcs the author talked about di*cks and bal*s. I didn't feel the love btw the MCs, I didn't like how they were together and I wasn't a fan of Mikos' attitude(mostly in the part where he didn't believe Ryan). I would have liked to see more feelings and less sex(that bordered on non-consensual). The plot was stupid and the only char that made sense was Blake, but sadly he was in few pages.
These "aliens" seemed guided by their lower parts and also if they talked about love, mates and all other romantic things, I only saw them trying to dominate their mates, to controll them and I really didn't like this kind of relationship. For me in a relationship there isn't an owner and an owned, but two equals.
I remember now why I had this book on my "reading" list and had put it aside... Now I started this series again and I Have to finish this, bcs I don't want any more "dead bodies" on my list, but I really hope that the sequels are better.
2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
October 29, 2019
3.5/5 - I picked this up as a filler to pass time but I actually ended up really enjoying the plot. The main characters set were decently fleshed out as well, although it seemed like most of the background characters just blended together. Nothing too crazy amazing here, but not bad either!
November 13, 2017
Science fiction, alpha males, and mpreg. I feel as if I hit the jackpot when I read the blurb for 'Mate of the Tyger Prince'. I was intrigued with the culture found on Tygeria, how the males and females became separated due to overpopulation a thousand years ago, and especially how scientists had come up with ways to alter the human male body - the preferred love slaves of Tygerian males - enabling them to bear children. Mikos's omak, or bearer, is a human male captured during fighting between the Axis and Alliance. A war that has gone on for far too long and which precipitated the agreement for Prince Mikos to marry a human female, something he wasn't all that keen on. When she disappears and elopes the night before the wedding, Mikos is thrilled, until he discovers her brother, Ryan, is to be the replacement.
“You mean to tell me this young man… Your unmarried son? Well, why didn’t you say so? Who needs the daughter? This one will do fine. In fact, he’ll do even better!”
Ryan is a colonel in the Alliance forces and considers all Tygerians to be mindless, savage brutes, with no thought to all the lives lost in this war that has raged for over a hundred and fifty years. Mikos is a high prince of Tygeria, first in line for the throne, and the king's top general and battle commander in the Axis. Mikos considers all Alliance to be greedy scum who began this war because they wanted the diamond deposits on Tygeria. Hmm. Not the best beginning to an arranged marriage, but certainly not the worst, either. At least there's physical attraction on both sides. *grins*
"Instead, something had awakened inside him, a part of him that longed to be dominated and controlled and possessed utterly. To be owned by this man. How could this be?"
I really liked how the author showed the culture and society of Tygeria. The way their scientists have created the possibility of men bearing children was very believable as was the birth scenario. I found it quite interesting that Tygerian males are forced to shift to their tiger forms only three times a year when they have a full moon. Under extreme stress or pain, they can shift at will although it's very rare. Even more fascinating is that while shifted they don't retain any portion of their human brain, and their loved ones stay locked behind heavy doors to protect them. I was a little disappointed in the predictability of the ARes (a quasi-military terrorist organization who wanted to the see the war continue) plot but the author did a great job in writing it, and there were some fun surprises.
An absolutely wonderful, very sexy, and super exciting start to a new series. I adored Ryan and grew to like Mikos more as time went on. Their romance was unconventional but exceedingly sensuous, and I loved their happy ever after. The author did a fantastic job of world building and I look forward to reading more about it.
“You mean to tell me this young man… Your unmarried son? Well, why didn’t you say so? Who needs the daughter? This one will do fine. In fact, he’ll do even better!”
Ryan is a colonel in the Alliance forces and considers all Tygerians to be mindless, savage brutes, with no thought to all the lives lost in this war that has raged for over a hundred and fifty years. Mikos is a high prince of Tygeria, first in line for the throne, and the king's top general and battle commander in the Axis. Mikos considers all Alliance to be greedy scum who began this war because they wanted the diamond deposits on Tygeria. Hmm. Not the best beginning to an arranged marriage, but certainly not the worst, either. At least there's physical attraction on both sides. *grins*
"Instead, something had awakened inside him, a part of him that longed to be dominated and controlled and possessed utterly. To be owned by this man. How could this be?"
I really liked how the author showed the culture and society of Tygeria. The way their scientists have created the possibility of men bearing children was very believable as was the birth scenario. I found it quite interesting that Tygerian males are forced to shift to their tiger forms only three times a year when they have a full moon. Under extreme stress or pain, they can shift at will although it's very rare. Even more fascinating is that while shifted they don't retain any portion of their human brain, and their loved ones stay locked behind heavy doors to protect them. I was a little disappointed in the predictability of the ARes (a quasi-military terrorist organization who wanted to the see the war continue) plot but the author did a great job in writing it, and there were some fun surprises.
An absolutely wonderful, very sexy, and super exciting start to a new series. I adored Ryan and grew to like Mikos more as time went on. Their romance was unconventional but exceedingly sensuous, and I loved their happy ever after. The author did a fantastic job of world building and I look forward to reading more about it.
March 5, 2019
Well, it was a nice read but definitely not worth the money.
It cost a pretty penny, which would be normally fine, but this book is in desperate need of an editor.
...” He moved so fast sometimes for such a large man that sometimes it sometimes surprised Ryan.”...
This sentence and a range of similar misspellings and writing, can be found throughout the book.
Unacceptable.
The ending ruined the whole book and thereby lost all its credibility.
I liked the idea of an interspecies romance. The setting and the ideas for it as well as the plot were ok. I liked the characters, if the author would have let them develop. Instead of going the right way and taking it back in the next instance. Sad, could have been fun.
Sadly it was totally unripe.
I admit it was only the first book in this series and maybe some points I am about to criticise are used in the following books.
But the first book is still a whole part and shouldn’t leave important parts out in the open like that or neglected.
First, Mikos is a tiger shifter alien species. And on a marginal note he actually once shifts into a tiger.
Yet, it played no part in any way in the plot.
It isn’t used as a tool or integrated in the storyline.
The whole romance aspect, and I knew it would weigh heavily on that aspect alone. Is simply too superficial. The author starts out good, with authentic feelings towards situations. The basic approaches are good but then the author overruns it.
They will try to start a relationship. Puff, next thing you know, two days later they are fucking.
He mistreats him over months. Puff, I am sorry and all is fine again.
The author does this with all emotional conflicts. The basic start is perfect and then she fasts forward, no process or development and therefore looses all credibility this book had at the beginning.
The main character Ryan, drove me crazy in that aspect as well. He is a colonel in the army and that comes with strength and many attributes to make it that far and yet not once does he show any backbone when it comes to standing up for himself. It is frustrating and at times makes no sense. Why on earth does he need to get asylum? He is a grown man, a colonel, it just doesn’t make any sense.
He doesn’t try to escape, or fight, or get the upper hand with the tools he has.
He gets kicked like a puppy and trampled on.
The author let’s Ryan tell us over and over again that by don’t believing in him, lost trust can never be rebuild. At least not easily, if at all. We see the emotional wounds he suffered. The author even quotes, that lost trust can never be rebuild and shows us how determined he is. We are shown how mistreated, humiliated and respect-less he is treated. And still, one miserable “I am so sorry, for not believing in you, or in my brother, for how I treated you over months. For telling you I love you and making a farce out of it, by not believing in you at all. I am sorry, forgive me.”
And a second later everything is fine.
The problem is, you can’t let the reader feel all that and then in one single sentence make the main character forgive him.
Trust has to be build back again, that is hard work, that is a long road. And I would have loved to see them travel it.
But by just giving us unfair treatment, to put it lightly, for over 40% of the book, and ending it in the end with one sentence. Without any learning lessons or real change in behaviour. It is simply unbelievable and makes this whole book a farce.
Nothing I want to read about, honestly.
Then we have neglected side characters. No amends made towards Ryan. And and and
It cost a pretty penny, which would be normally fine, but this book is in desperate need of an editor.
...” He moved so fast sometimes for such a large man that sometimes it sometimes surprised Ryan.”...
This sentence and a range of similar misspellings and writing, can be found throughout the book.
Unacceptable.
The ending ruined the whole book and thereby lost all its credibility.
I liked the idea of an interspecies romance. The setting and the ideas for it as well as the plot were ok. I liked the characters, if the author would have let them develop. Instead of going the right way and taking it back in the next instance. Sad, could have been fun.
Sadly it was totally unripe.
I admit it was only the first book in this series and maybe some points I am about to criticise are used in the following books.
But the first book is still a whole part and shouldn’t leave important parts out in the open like that or neglected.
First, Mikos is a tiger shifter alien species. And on a marginal note he actually once shifts into a tiger.
Yet, it played no part in any way in the plot.
It isn’t used as a tool or integrated in the storyline.
The whole romance aspect, and I knew it would weigh heavily on that aspect alone. Is simply too superficial. The author starts out good, with authentic feelings towards situations. The basic approaches are good but then the author overruns it.
They will try to start a relationship. Puff, next thing you know, two days later they are fucking.
He mistreats him over months. Puff, I am sorry and all is fine again.
The author does this with all emotional conflicts. The basic start is perfect and then she fasts forward, no process or development and therefore looses all credibility this book had at the beginning.
The main character Ryan, drove me crazy in that aspect as well. He is a colonel in the army and that comes with strength and many attributes to make it that far and yet not once does he show any backbone when it comes to standing up for himself. It is frustrating and at times makes no sense. Why on earth does he need to get asylum? He is a grown man, a colonel, it just doesn’t make any sense.
He doesn’t try to escape, or fight, or get the upper hand with the tools he has.
He gets kicked like a puppy and trampled on.
The author let’s Ryan tell us over and over again that by don’t believing in him, lost trust can never be rebuild. At least not easily, if at all. We see the emotional wounds he suffered. The author even quotes, that lost trust can never be rebuild and shows us how determined he is. We are shown how mistreated, humiliated and respect-less he is treated. And still, one miserable “I am so sorry, for not believing in you, or in my brother, for how I treated you over months. For telling you I love you and making a farce out of it, by not believing in you at all. I am sorry, forgive me.”
And a second later everything is fine.
The problem is, you can’t let the reader feel all that and then in one single sentence make the main character forgive him.
Trust has to be build back again, that is hard work, that is a long road. And I would have loved to see them travel it.
But by just giving us unfair treatment, to put it lightly, for over 40% of the book, and ending it in the end with one sentence. Without any learning lessons or real change in behaviour. It is simply unbelievable and makes this whole book a farce.
Nothing I want to read about, honestly.
Then we have neglected side characters. No amends made towards Ryan. And and and
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 2, 2016
Okay this book just freakin pissed me off. First off the blurb lies. It's not sworn enemies to lovers, it is 'Oh I just met you and am getting married to you but GUESS WHAT you just so happen to be the dread enemy of our people that I hate beyond hate'... two seconds later 'I guess it's okay to mate you anyway'. That is the extent of the enemies to lovers if you don't count their first meeting when they find out they hate each other cause of petty insults. Secondly there is the absolutely ridiculous notion that a well respected military officer is just fine with having operations done that will make him be able to bear children. I expected quite a lot more resistance from Ryan and to be honest was really looking forward to the fight he would put up against Mikos and how the author would have him submit or even a really good reason for him to go through with it. This however did not happen. The characters just fell flat and the storyline dragged. Now I'm not saying that I don't like the author because I do. There are a great many stories of hers that I really enjoy reading and think others would like as well. It's just this one fell short for me. Hopefully her next book has the fire and the fight that I love about her writing.
February 15, 2016
What an EXCELLENT EXCELLENT book this was!!!! Full of hate,sabotage and love. What more could you ask for?!?!?
November 23, 2022
3.5 stars
What I liked :
This is typical of Shannon West's books. Possessive hot alpha males. Great chemistry. Hot sex scenes. Oh yes, they burned the sheets. Sometimes a little bit dubcon or rapey (you know you like it *wink*). Add some drama too. There's the harlequin vibe in it. Overall, thank goodness it still works for me. Shannon West is one of my guilty pleasures.
What I disliked :
- Info dumping. I know it's important for world-building. But it's too much. I tried to bear with it. Because I loved Mikos and Ryan.
- The political stuff. I'm sorry, I'm just not into that.
What I liked :
This is typical of Shannon West's books. Possessive hot alpha males. Great chemistry. Hot sex scenes. Oh yes, they burned the sheets. Sometimes a little bit dubcon or rapey (you know you like it *wink*). Add some drama too. There's the harlequin vibe in it. Overall, thank goodness it still works for me. Shannon West is one of my guilty pleasures.
What I disliked :
- Info dumping. I know it's important for world-building. But it's too much. I tried to bear with it. Because I loved Mikos and Ryan.
- The political stuff. I'm sorry, I'm just not into that.
January 26, 2016
Mikos was just a bag of surprises. I was in awe at his accomplishments for being so young.
The Tygerian foods and Ryan trying them without knowing the whole truth was hilarious. I liked that Blake was willing to share his food that was shipped from earth.
Blake and Ryan and all the other humans were awesome for coming up with a plan at the dinner party.
I was devastated by Mikos not believing Ryan about the ARes situation. The treatment Ryan suffered had me tearing up a bit. I really wanted to see Mikos make it up to him via a grand gesture and it kind of happened.
I liked the up and down moments and I hope we'll get to see more of these TWO or at least another story involving tygerians.
The Tygerian foods and Ryan trying them without knowing the whole truth was hilarious. I liked that Blake was willing to share his food that was shipped from earth.
Blake and Ryan and all the other humans were awesome for coming up with a plan at the dinner party.
I was devastated by Mikos not believing Ryan about the ARes situation. The treatment Ryan suffered had me tearing up a bit. I really wanted to see Mikos make it up to him via a grand gesture and it kind of happened.
I liked the up and down moments and I hope we'll get to see more of these TWO or at least another story involving tygerians.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2016
DNF........
At the beginning, (the first page... not the first few) I thought it might be an interesting novel. However, I was immediately proven wrong. Too cheesy, cliche, immature. The plot....
Reading it become a chore...
At the beginning, (the first page... not the first few) I thought it might be an interesting novel. However, I was immediately proven wrong. Too cheesy, cliche, immature. The plot....
Reading it become a chore...
September 27, 2019
3 stars * includes spoilers in the latter part *
This is a series starter in an MM Sci-Fi Alien Romance series I mistakenly purchased thinking I'd get proper shifter romance topped with hot aliens.
1. -
I found it surprising that someone starts writing a series about tiger princes / people but doesn't in any way utilize said feature at all in the whole story but like mentions offhand once or twice. What kind of a shifter series story that is? I was disappointed!
I was drooling for hot shifters and there was in all practicality nothing!!
After mulling it over I'm dropping the rating with a whole star already due to the promised shifter deal being so wholly 99.9% absent from this title; if one reads the title one understands what I mean. The whole series NAME, the whole concept implies this being a shifter series - trying to lure in shifter fan readers to pay for reading shifters. Exotic alien shifters which simply only shift "once in a blue moon" in practise. This simply doesn't fly. No matter how you explain "they only shift when". Aka it's simply a device introduced to make people 1 click something popular. Built on tyger shifter name for that reason but the promise was empty.
IMHO I feel disappointed after paying $5.49 for something any customer'd mistake for a shifter story and the reality being this.
I feel really bad at giving a negative review
- as I in general did like the writing,the plot etc -
but I simply don't approve of this method of trying to get purchases. If you don't mean to write shifters by all means don't and instead concentrate on what it really IS. If you see people wanting shifters and want to sell to them the solution is to actually write actual shifter titles.
2. -
Second issue I had with it was the classic too instant attraction of the previously straight human to the tygerian too much in the beginning. There's lots of immediate attraction in romance and MM, but this felt still too instant and not wholly organic. He shouldn't have been THAT easy THAT fast. It kind of didn't have ANY time to grow. It was too forced. Especially considering circumstances it's unbelievable. For it to start coming out it was at least a scene too early.
***** spoiler part *****
The straight human fell for the tygerian prince against his will in the first scene they were alone while they were discussing the need to get married instead of his sister and the prince, arranged, and the human horrified being just put on the spot in the previous scene to be forced to get married with an alien and a guy.
And then a few moments later in the next scene in private he simply melts.
Talk about instant...
3. +
Now then.
But - despite these I otherwise liked it. It was hot. It wasn't the least boring. No "scrolling by" in the story. Otherwise well done.
If the expressed faults only weren't there ... it could've felt MUCH better than it ended up in reality. If only time would've been taken to fullfill the implied promise properly plus a scene or two before the human started melting for the tygerian, not such rushing, I'd be giving it 4 and recommending. I feel sad for such waste of a perfectly good ...
This is a series starter in an MM Sci-Fi Alien Romance series I mistakenly purchased thinking I'd get proper shifter romance topped with hot aliens.
1. -
I found it surprising that someone starts writing a series about tiger princes / people but doesn't in any way utilize said feature at all in the whole story but like mentions offhand once or twice. What kind of a shifter series story that is? I was disappointed!
I was drooling for hot shifters and there was in all practicality nothing!!
After mulling it over I'm dropping the rating with a whole star already due to the promised shifter deal being so wholly 99.9% absent from this title; if one reads the title one understands what I mean. The whole series NAME, the whole concept implies this being a shifter series - trying to lure in shifter fan readers to pay for reading shifters. Exotic alien shifters which simply only shift "once in a blue moon" in practise. This simply doesn't fly. No matter how you explain "they only shift when". Aka it's simply a device introduced to make people 1 click something popular. Built on tyger shifter name for that reason but the promise was empty.
IMHO I feel disappointed after paying $5.49 for something any customer'd mistake for a shifter story and the reality being this.
I feel really bad at giving a negative review
- as I in general did like the writing,the plot etc -
but I simply don't approve of this method of trying to get purchases. If you don't mean to write shifters by all means don't and instead concentrate on what it really IS. If you see people wanting shifters and want to sell to them the solution is to actually write actual shifter titles.
2. -
Second issue I had with it was the classic too instant attraction of the previously straight human to the tygerian too much in the beginning. There's lots of immediate attraction in romance and MM, but this felt still too instant and not wholly organic. He shouldn't have been THAT easy THAT fast. It kind of didn't have ANY time to grow. It was too forced. Especially considering circumstances it's unbelievable. For it to start coming out it was at least a scene too early.
***** spoiler part *****
The straight human fell for the tygerian prince against his will in the first scene they were alone while they were discussing the need to get married instead of his sister and the prince, arranged, and the human horrified being just put on the spot in the previous scene to be forced to get married with an alien and a guy.
And then a few moments later in the next scene in private he simply melts.
Talk about instant...
3. +
Now then.
But - despite these I otherwise liked it. It was hot. It wasn't the least boring. No "scrolling by" in the story. Otherwise well done.
If the expressed faults only weren't there ... it could've felt MUCH better than it ended up in reality. If only time would've been taken to fullfill the implied promise properly plus a scene or two before the human started melting for the tygerian, not such rushing, I'd be giving it 4 and recommending. I feel sad for such waste of a perfectly good ...
September 28, 2022
Yeah, no. This book was trying to marry insta-love with enemies-to-lovers and, like, it's a hard thing to do, but it just didn't work for me. Tiger-shifter prince is married to a human military officer in order to broker a peace deal in space (this male human officer is also expected to carry his children). They hate each other on sight, but they also love each other on sight? I just didn't get it and even though I hate DNFing things, I don't intend to carry on with this series.
December 26, 2019
This was a pretty standard mpreg book and series. It was entertaining but nothing really special about it. I liked Mikos and Ryan together and enjoyed the back in forth between them trying to figure out what they were going to do about their relationship. I disliked the fact that Ryan became a besotted babymaker and lost most of his military and individuality after falling in love with Mikos.
March 29, 2020
Sweet, Erotic and Suspenseful
This was everything I needed it to be, sweet, erotica, suspenseful, passionate. It is my first MM romances this author and it was wonderful. I am eager to start book two
This was everything I needed it to be, sweet, erotica, suspenseful, passionate. It is my first MM romances this author and it was wonderful. I am eager to start book two
January 18, 2016
4.5 out of 5 stars
Description ~
Diplomatic marriages between two members of different planets certainly aren’t unheard of—but for Prince Mikos of Tygeria and Col. Ryan Donnelly of Earth, it might just be a fate worse than death. The union is meant to end a devastating war that has lasted for over a hundred and fifty years, but when the female bride intended for the fierce, sexy prince runs away, her handsome brother is substituted instead. Men are for mating as far as the Tygerian prince is concerned, but the colonel also happens to be Mikos’s sworn enemy, not to mention being completely irritating.
Ryan is horrified to learn that the Tygerians not only expect him to take the place of his sister, marry the Bloody Prince of Tygeria, and go to live with him on his mysterious planet, but they also expect him to undergo physical alteration to have the man’s baby! And nobody is taking hell no for an answer. Ryan’s being asked to turn his whole life upside down and the handsome Tygerian gets under his skin like nobody else. But with the fate of the universe at stake, how can he say no? Can the two enemies put aside their differences and focus on making love and not war—not to mention a baby? As a powerful love struggles to take root, can they learn to trust each other and stand together against the forces that are trying to tear them apart?
My Review ~
I received Mate of the Tyger Prince as part of the blog tour through Pride Promotions. This is the first time I've read Shannon West but it definitely won't be the last.
Mate of the Tyger Prince was a great world building, character set up book to what looks to be a possible series. That is based on the author's world building, storyline, and 'info-dump' at the start of the book. The story clearly sets up the 'rules' so to speak, between the Tygerians and other species including humans. The Tygerians have been in a long term war with humans due to the resources on the Tygerians home planet and their refusal to share those resources with the humans.
The relationship that starts between Ryan, the human, and Mikos, the Tygerian Prince, is one born of creating a truce between the two species in order to end the war. Let's put it this way, Ryan is NOT a happy participant to this binding... at first. The relationship bonds slowly build between Ryan and Mikos. The oh my god hot for each other bonds are pretty much instantaneous. We all know though that the hot for each other bonds only go so far and these bonds are what cause trouble between these two as they forge their relationship.
While I've only come to the mpreg genre recently this author and the other that I've read both have created plausible explanations for the genetics/science behind mpreg. As I'm a bit of a science nerd I greatly appreciate a bit of plausibility in my science fiction. While I can and do suspend belief for certain things, genetics tends to be a sticking point for me. This author has crafted a well described way of how mpreg is made possible on Tygeria.
Besides the characters who I really liked, the world building in this story is what truly grabbed. As a long time reader of hard science fiction/space operas, she was able to give her world a very descriptive background and basis for it's day to day life. So many times world building isn't done right and that leaves a lot of the story to fall flat because there isn't anything to support the why behind the words.
I truly hope this is the first book in a series and that we'll see both these characters and this world again. I definitely recommend this for fans of Victoria Sue and those that love a science fiction space opera in their M/M romance.
Description ~
Diplomatic marriages between two members of different planets certainly aren’t unheard of—but for Prince Mikos of Tygeria and Col. Ryan Donnelly of Earth, it might just be a fate worse than death. The union is meant to end a devastating war that has lasted for over a hundred and fifty years, but when the female bride intended for the fierce, sexy prince runs away, her handsome brother is substituted instead. Men are for mating as far as the Tygerian prince is concerned, but the colonel also happens to be Mikos’s sworn enemy, not to mention being completely irritating.
Ryan is horrified to learn that the Tygerians not only expect him to take the place of his sister, marry the Bloody Prince of Tygeria, and go to live with him on his mysterious planet, but they also expect him to undergo physical alteration to have the man’s baby! And nobody is taking hell no for an answer. Ryan’s being asked to turn his whole life upside down and the handsome Tygerian gets under his skin like nobody else. But with the fate of the universe at stake, how can he say no? Can the two enemies put aside their differences and focus on making love and not war—not to mention a baby? As a powerful love struggles to take root, can they learn to trust each other and stand together against the forces that are trying to tear them apart?
My Review ~
I received Mate of the Tyger Prince as part of the blog tour through Pride Promotions. This is the first time I've read Shannon West but it definitely won't be the last.
Mate of the Tyger Prince was a great world building, character set up book to what looks to be a possible series. That is based on the author's world building, storyline, and 'info-dump' at the start of the book. The story clearly sets up the 'rules' so to speak, between the Tygerians and other species including humans. The Tygerians have been in a long term war with humans due to the resources on the Tygerians home planet and their refusal to share those resources with the humans.
The relationship that starts between Ryan, the human, and Mikos, the Tygerian Prince, is one born of creating a truce between the two species in order to end the war. Let's put it this way, Ryan is NOT a happy participant to this binding... at first. The relationship bonds slowly build between Ryan and Mikos. The oh my god hot for each other bonds are pretty much instantaneous. We all know though that the hot for each other bonds only go so far and these bonds are what cause trouble between these two as they forge their relationship.
While I've only come to the mpreg genre recently this author and the other that I've read both have created plausible explanations for the genetics/science behind mpreg. As I'm a bit of a science nerd I greatly appreciate a bit of plausibility in my science fiction. While I can and do suspend belief for certain things, genetics tends to be a sticking point for me. This author has crafted a well described way of how mpreg is made possible on Tygeria.
Besides the characters who I really liked, the world building in this story is what truly grabbed. As a long time reader of hard science fiction/space operas, she was able to give her world a very descriptive background and basis for it's day to day life. So many times world building isn't done right and that leaves a lot of the story to fall flat because there isn't anything to support the why behind the words.
I truly hope this is the first book in a series and that we'll see both these characters and this world again. I definitely recommend this for fans of Victoria Sue and those that love a science fiction space opera in their M/M romance.
July 16, 2017
I just discovered Shannon West and I am floored. Wow! just Wow!
This book was perfect on so many levels. I loved the characters of Mikos and Ryan, these two had just so much chemistry, I have never read a better kiss. Oh my God there first kiss was just so perfect and filled with so much anticipation, I don't think I have ever read a book were the kisses were so dreamy and drugging and just plain hot.
Mikos is the Tyger Prince, he is fierce and he is just as protective of Ryan. I loved him so much, he was that over protective guy who loses his heart first but continues to shower so much love on Ryan even when Ryan is unable reciprocate his feelings. I loved how he convinces Ryan to marry him and how he woos him and teases him and becomes totally jealous over him.
Ryan on the other hand is in over his head with this marriage, he knows that sooner or later he will have to accept Mikos as the dominant partner but he doesn't want that to happen at the cost to his self. But when he falls nothing else matters. I guess the best scene between Ryan and Mikos is this one –
When breathing finally became necessary for both of them, Mikos reluctantly pulled away, biting none too gently at the Ryan’s lower lip as he went. Ryan gasped and Mikos looked down to see a few drops of blood on his lip, yet Ryan strained toward him for more.
“No, don’t stop…kiss me again, Mikos. Please.”
The true hero of this book is the relationship between Ryan and Mikos. I mean it is impossible to describe one of them without mentioning the other in the same line, they are just so completely intertwined. I could read books about them and I really wish for a sequel which really seals and vacuum packs the stability that has come to their relationship.
This story is just so dynamic that we get to see Ryan and Mikos go through so many phases and circumstances that put their relationship to the test. But one thing is sure they will never be able to stay away from each other for long. Trust is the most important in any relationship but they also say that trust once broken can't be regained. Trust forms the backbone of this story but I guess Mikos and Ryan learn that Love can make the impossible possible and true love conquers all, maybe even broken trust.
This book has a really nice and well timed plot. In most books the life-changing event occurs at the 75-80% mark and there is never enough time for a proper reconciliation. But this book wins in that aspect because it gives enough breathing room to Mikos and Ryan's relationship to really flourish.
The ending of this book made me really happy as yeah Ryan got his wish regarding their child.
But despite how awesome this book is, I am infinitely greedier and I really hope the author picks this book as the opening of a series. I would love to see more shifting happen. I want to know if Mikos' tyger recognizes Ryan given how he paces under their room window all frantic. Even though in Tygeria nobyo don't interact with their tyger mates, still it might be interesting to know what Mikos would behave like with Ryan if he were to go through a forced shifting. I mean there are just so many plot lines that can be explored. Like the fact that Ryan is going to be the King's consort some day and I am pretty sure that enables some kind of Royal training prior to that. And why can't Mikos and Ryan have a daughter that would really through things for a nice spin. I mean just more Ryan and Mikos would also be enough, because I really hope we get to see more of these two.
This book was perfect on so many levels. I loved the characters of Mikos and Ryan, these two had just so much chemistry, I have never read a better kiss. Oh my God there first kiss was just so perfect and filled with so much anticipation, I don't think I have ever read a book were the kisses were so dreamy and drugging and just plain hot.
Mikos is the Tyger Prince, he is fierce and he is just as protective of Ryan. I loved him so much, he was that over protective guy who loses his heart first but continues to shower so much love on Ryan even when Ryan is unable reciprocate his feelings. I loved how he convinces Ryan to marry him and how he woos him and teases him and becomes totally jealous over him.
Ryan on the other hand is in over his head with this marriage, he knows that sooner or later he will have to accept Mikos as the dominant partner but he doesn't want that to happen at the cost to his self. But when he falls nothing else matters. I guess the best scene between Ryan and Mikos is this one –
When breathing finally became necessary for both of them, Mikos reluctantly pulled away, biting none too gently at the Ryan’s lower lip as he went. Ryan gasped and Mikos looked down to see a few drops of blood on his lip, yet Ryan strained toward him for more.
“No, don’t stop…kiss me again, Mikos. Please.”
The true hero of this book is the relationship between Ryan and Mikos. I mean it is impossible to describe one of them without mentioning the other in the same line, they are just so completely intertwined. I could read books about them and I really wish for a sequel which really seals and vacuum packs the stability that has come to their relationship.
This story is just so dynamic that we get to see Ryan and Mikos go through so many phases and circumstances that put their relationship to the test. But one thing is sure they will never be able to stay away from each other for long. Trust is the most important in any relationship but they also say that trust once broken can't be regained. Trust forms the backbone of this story but I guess Mikos and Ryan learn that Love can make the impossible possible and true love conquers all, maybe even broken trust.
This book has a really nice and well timed plot. In most books the life-changing event occurs at the 75-80% mark and there is never enough time for a proper reconciliation. But this book wins in that aspect because it gives enough breathing room to Mikos and Ryan's relationship to really flourish.
The ending of this book made me really happy as yeah Ryan got his wish regarding their child.
But despite how awesome this book is, I am infinitely greedier and I really hope the author picks this book as the opening of a series. I would love to see more shifting happen. I want to know if Mikos' tyger recognizes Ryan given how he paces under their room window all frantic. Even though in Tygeria nobyo don't interact with their tyger mates, still it might be interesting to know what Mikos would behave like with Ryan if he were to go through a forced shifting. I mean there are just so many plot lines that can be explored. Like the fact that Ryan is going to be the King's consort some day and I am pretty sure that enables some kind of Royal training prior to that. And why can't Mikos and Ryan have a daughter that would really through things for a nice spin. I mean just more Ryan and Mikos would also be enough, because I really hope we get to see more of these two.
January 28, 2024
2019 - skim read
2020 - read with skimming
2024 - read with skimming & skipping
(review written)
3 attempts to read word-for-word, and every single time I had to skim. I blame it on the way it's written (mediocre at best with no mind for errors).
There is a kernel of a good story here, but man is it a drudgery to read! The first half has a lot of info. about:
✱ the Axis of Planets (Tygerians & their allies)
✱ the Earth Alliance
✱ the 150 years of war (Earth wants the Tygerians' diamond deposits)
✱ the treaty/peace agreements being negotiated
✱ Prince Mikos of Tygeria & his family
✱ Col. Ryan Donnelly of Earth (his story)
✱ diplomatic marriages & history of
✱ The people of Tygeria - past & present
✱ ARes (Alliance Resistance), a quasi-military terrorist group that wants the war to continue
✱ Plus other 🥱 stuff
Ryan (29) doesn't want to marry Mikos (20). He's forced into it after his sister runs off. Ryan has never been with a guy, and is supposedly straight. A few hours after meeting Mikos, they're making out on the couch. Mikos has to stop Ryan from going further. 🙄
When they first have sex, Mikos is going to wait to have anal sex, to keep them from bonding. This will allow Ryan to leave after 1 year, if he so chooses. Ryan insists on anal sex, because he's begging for it. Literally.
Ryan starts out as a tough, competent military man, but quickly becomes the needy, little woman. Mikos is the man of the relationship, who makes most of the decisions. This is m/m romance with an m/f vibe. Also with insta-love.
There's no realism, it's melodramatic, the drama at the end is OTT (like a soap opera). I liked the sex scenes when I first read it, but now I need more than hot sex scenes.
The ending was and remains my favorite part. I wish it could have been stretched out longer. The angst kept me reading, wanting to see how it was resolved (which was too quickly & easily). Ryan & Mikos didn't like/trust each other, but they still kept having sex. I wanted Ryan to have more of a backbone and make Mikos pay! 😤
The Drama at the End:
2020 - read with skimming
2024 - read with skimming & skipping
(review written)
3 attempts to read word-for-word, and every single time I had to skim. I blame it on the way it's written (mediocre at best with no mind for errors).
There is a kernel of a good story here, but man is it a drudgery to read! The first half has a lot of info. about:
✱ the Axis of Planets (Tygerians & their allies)
✱ the Earth Alliance
✱ the 150 years of war (Earth wants the Tygerians' diamond deposits)
✱ the treaty/peace agreements being negotiated
✱ Prince Mikos of Tygeria & his family
✱ Col. Ryan Donnelly of Earth (his story)
✱ diplomatic marriages & history of
✱ The people of Tygeria - past & present
✱ ARes (Alliance Resistance), a quasi-military terrorist group that wants the war to continue
✱ Plus other 🥱 stuff
Ryan (29) doesn't want to marry Mikos (20). He's forced into it after his sister runs off. Ryan has never been with a guy, and is supposedly straight. A few hours after meeting Mikos, they're making out on the couch. Mikos has to stop Ryan from going further. 🙄
When they first have sex, Mikos is going to wait to have anal sex, to keep them from bonding. This will allow Ryan to leave after 1 year, if he so chooses. Ryan insists on anal sex, because he's begging for it. Literally.
Ryan starts out as a tough, competent military man, but quickly becomes the needy, little woman. Mikos is the man of the relationship, who makes most of the decisions. This is m/m romance with an m/f vibe. Also with insta-love.
There's no realism, it's melodramatic, the drama at the end is OTT (like a soap opera). I liked the sex scenes when I first read it, but now I need more than hot sex scenes.
The ending was and remains my favorite part. I wish it could have been stretched out longer. The angst kept me reading, wanting to see how it was resolved (which was too quickly & easily). Ryan & Mikos didn't like/trust each other, but they still kept having sex. I wanted Ryan to have more of a backbone and make Mikos pay! 😤
The Drama at the End:
June 17, 2016
**Originally post on Kiki's Kinky Picks**
4.5 stars
Mate of the Tyger Prince by Shannon West was so interesting and it totally captivated me! I honestly couldn't put it down and ended up reading into the wee hours of the mornings. This is the first in the series and I'm pretty darn psyched to read some more.
I don't read a lot of sci-fi because there's usually so much going on I get distracted from the storyline. I'm like a kid with ADHD who can't help but stop and point at weird and/or shiny things. However, this one just sounded too intriguing to pass up. Space-traveling tiger shifters? Whaaaat? Sign me up!
Anyway, so I obviously loved it. Mikos was so dreamy and Ryan was deliciously sassy.
What really sold me on this book was the fact that mpreg was explained. Most of the time, the author doesn't bother to explain just how a male body supports a pregnancy and the reader is just forced to accept it as creative license. Shannon broke it down and explained the "science" behind it. Even though it's obviously not real science, that doesn't matter, I just love that she took the time to come up with a believable reason and bothered to lay it out for her readers.
Kudos.
I couldn't help but chuckle as I read this little passage:
ARes was the name of a quasi-military terrorist organization who wanted to see the war continue. The name was a kind of acronym, supposedly standing for Alliance Resistance, but Ryan thought it was an excuse for war criminals to profit off the immense suffering that would take place if the war continued. The problem was that many of the members were in control of banks and the media, not to mention some highly placed government officials. They funded both sides of the war for their own benefit, and manufactured the consent of a large section of the public through propaganda.
It isn't often that I read something in a romance novel that so clearly reflects a large issue in today's society that most people ignore. I read that passage and immediately thought "yup, that sounds familiar."
Alright, I'll jump down off my soapbox now.
The chemistry between these two was hot, hot, hot. I was fanning myself during most of the sex scenes. As sweet and loving as Mikos was, there was a primal undertone to everything he did (including the sexy times) that reminded you that he wasn't one hundred percent human.
This book is also one of the few exceptions to my dislike of instalove, because it actually makes sense with the plot. I guess that's a fringe benefit of it being a sci-fi book--when some of the characters aren't human than the rules get to go out the window!
With strong, extremely likeable characters and a plot that keeps you on your toes, Mate of the Tyger Prince had me finishing at four in the morning and begging for more.
Copy provided in exchange for a fair and honest review.
4.5 stars
Mate of the Tyger Prince by Shannon West was so interesting and it totally captivated me! I honestly couldn't put it down and ended up reading into the wee hours of the mornings. This is the first in the series and I'm pretty darn psyched to read some more.
I don't read a lot of sci-fi because there's usually so much going on I get distracted from the storyline. I'm like a kid with ADHD who can't help but stop and point at weird and/or shiny things. However, this one just sounded too intriguing to pass up. Space-traveling tiger shifters? Whaaaat? Sign me up!
Anyway, so I obviously loved it. Mikos was so dreamy and Ryan was deliciously sassy.
What really sold me on this book was the fact that mpreg was explained. Most of the time, the author doesn't bother to explain just how a male body supports a pregnancy and the reader is just forced to accept it as creative license. Shannon broke it down and explained the "science" behind it. Even though it's obviously not real science, that doesn't matter, I just love that she took the time to come up with a believable reason and bothered to lay it out for her readers.
Kudos.
I couldn't help but chuckle as I read this little passage:
ARes was the name of a quasi-military terrorist organization who wanted to see the war continue. The name was a kind of acronym, supposedly standing for Alliance Resistance, but Ryan thought it was an excuse for war criminals to profit off the immense suffering that would take place if the war continued. The problem was that many of the members were in control of banks and the media, not to mention some highly placed government officials. They funded both sides of the war for their own benefit, and manufactured the consent of a large section of the public through propaganda.
It isn't often that I read something in a romance novel that so clearly reflects a large issue in today's society that most people ignore. I read that passage and immediately thought "yup, that sounds familiar."
Alright, I'll jump down off my soapbox now.
The chemistry between these two was hot, hot, hot. I was fanning myself during most of the sex scenes. As sweet and loving as Mikos was, there was a primal undertone to everything he did (including the sexy times) that reminded you that he wasn't one hundred percent human.
This book is also one of the few exceptions to my dislike of instalove, because it actually makes sense with the plot. I guess that's a fringe benefit of it being a sci-fi book--when some of the characters aren't human than the rules get to go out the window!
With strong, extremely likeable characters and a plot that keeps you on your toes, Mate of the Tyger Prince had me finishing at four in the morning and begging for more.
Copy provided in exchange for a fair and honest review.
February 19, 2017
Mikos is set to marry the daughter of the enemy in order to facilitate a peace agreement between Earth and his planet. Marriage and mating mean a lot more than just a ceremony and rings to him and his kind, however. When he is “dumped at the alter” by the runaway bride her father and his offer up a solution – her brother!
Ryan is NOT on board with the plan his father has concocted, as a general in the army who has fought and killed the Tygerians, he’s absolutely opposed to marrying and essentially joining forces with one. But… if he doesn’t it could be costly to the peace movement and many more people could die. So he bucks up an agrees to the marriage.
Meanwhile Mikos is quite pleased with the alternative choice, now it’s time to convince Ryan that theirs will be a match more than on paper.
**
I had not read any of the other books in this series, so I can’t say how this fits in to the grand scheme of things, but I wasn’t lost and I felt like I had a good understanding of the world building, etc.
In this case I think that I both loved and hated the insta-love that occurred because both characters acted sort of bi-polar in that one second they loved each other the other they hated each other. This resulted in lots of hot angry-sex but not a lot of believable emotional connections.
I was also super disappointed that I didn’t get to see any action with Mikos as a tiger – though I understand it’s not a typical sentient shifter thing, but I do love it when we get to experience their animal natures.
There was a lot of super smexy times and a very satisfying HEA and that fit my expectations and was lovely. But… there was also a lot of melodramatic sub-plot that absolutely set my teeth on edge. I love mpreg and thought the device by which this happens was really clever, but having Ryan get pregnant and then making Mikos throw him over because he thought he conspired against him when ALL THE EVIDENCE points away from that made me want to punch someone.
I loved the “my two dads” thing but I never really liked Ryan and Mikos as a couple. Ryan was a bit whiny and Mikos was a bit of a dick and though there were lots of pretty words there wasn’t much time for them to really get to know one another or even like one another.
In the end, I would look at others in the series, but this wasn’t my favorite and if it represents the series as a whole, I will probably not read much more of it.
Ryan is NOT on board with the plan his father has concocted, as a general in the army who has fought and killed the Tygerians, he’s absolutely opposed to marrying and essentially joining forces with one. But… if he doesn’t it could be costly to the peace movement and many more people could die. So he bucks up an agrees to the marriage.
Meanwhile Mikos is quite pleased with the alternative choice, now it’s time to convince Ryan that theirs will be a match more than on paper.
**
I had not read any of the other books in this series, so I can’t say how this fits in to the grand scheme of things, but I wasn’t lost and I felt like I had a good understanding of the world building, etc.
In this case I think that I both loved and hated the insta-love that occurred because both characters acted sort of bi-polar in that one second they loved each other the other they hated each other. This resulted in lots of hot angry-sex but not a lot of believable emotional connections.
I was also super disappointed that I didn’t get to see any action with Mikos as a tiger – though I understand it’s not a typical sentient shifter thing, but I do love it when we get to experience their animal natures.
There was a lot of super smexy times and a very satisfying HEA and that fit my expectations and was lovely. But… there was also a lot of melodramatic sub-plot that absolutely set my teeth on edge. I love mpreg and thought the device by which this happens was really clever, but having Ryan get pregnant and then making Mikos throw him over because he thought he conspired against him when ALL THE EVIDENCE points away from that made me want to punch someone.
I loved the “my two dads” thing but I never really liked Ryan and Mikos as a couple. Ryan was a bit whiny and Mikos was a bit of a dick and though there were lots of pretty words there wasn’t much time for them to really get to know one another or even like one another.
In the end, I would look at others in the series, but this wasn’t my favorite and if it represents the series as a whole, I will probably not read much more of it.
January 18, 2016
Original Blog Post: Book Blast, eARC Review, Excerpt & #Giveaway: Mate to the Tyger Prince by Shannon West
Review by: multitaskingmomma
My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
I love mpreg stories, and shape-shifters as well as the sci-fi/fantasy. This was an enjoyable read to the point it had me laughing at Ryan's predicament. The oh, so macho man who said he was straight as an arrow ending up as the alien prince's husband and got pregnant in the process. But the buts came in and that is what made me drop the rating. Mind you, these are my thoughts and my opinions which you may not necessarily agree with.
One, Ryan said he was straight and he was a gay-sex virgin. All going for me but then he gave in too soon. Why? The question is left unanswered so I don't know how to react to that.
And two, yes dear readers, only two: I fell in love with Blake and his husband, the Tyger king, father of Mikos. I so fell in love with them that for me, they stole the thunder from the unfolding romance that went on with Ryan and Mikos. I so fell in love with them that I skipped through the book just to catch a glimpse of their reappearance. I so fell in love with them that I got to resent I was reading Mikos and Ryan's story.
Now you know why I am in a muddle?
But in all justice to Mikos and Ryan, their story is so interesting and frustrating. Especially for Ryan who did manage to fall in love despite all the arguments going through his head. His heart was taken and broken from the betrayals around him, especially from those who the readers least expect it to come from.
Which brings me to another predicament. The events that unfolded near the end, the betrayal, it was quite the shocker and I didn't see that coming. How it was resolved, I didn't see that coming either.
Love as I did this read, I am left hanging and questioning and wanting...
Okay, I did enjoy this truly so I will settle for a four stars simply for the smiles and the frustrations that rose for Ryan's sake. And my need to read more of Blake.
Note: eARC provided by author for tour hosted by Pride Promotions.
Review by: multitaskingmomma
My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
I love mpreg stories, and shape-shifters as well as the sci-fi/fantasy. This was an enjoyable read to the point it had me laughing at Ryan's predicament. The oh, so macho man who said he was straight as an arrow ending up as the alien prince's husband and got pregnant in the process. But the buts came in and that is what made me drop the rating. Mind you, these are my thoughts and my opinions which you may not necessarily agree with.
One, Ryan said he was straight and he was a gay-sex virgin. All going for me but then he gave in too soon. Why? The question is left unanswered so I don't know how to react to that.
And two, yes dear readers, only two: I fell in love with Blake and his husband, the Tyger king, father of Mikos. I so fell in love with them that for me, they stole the thunder from the unfolding romance that went on with Ryan and Mikos. I so fell in love with them that I skipped through the book just to catch a glimpse of their reappearance. I so fell in love with them that I got to resent I was reading Mikos and Ryan's story.
Now you know why I am in a muddle?
But in all justice to Mikos and Ryan, their story is so interesting and frustrating. Especially for Ryan who did manage to fall in love despite all the arguments going through his head. His heart was taken and broken from the betrayals around him, especially from those who the readers least expect it to come from.
Which brings me to another predicament. The events that unfolded near the end, the betrayal, it was quite the shocker and I didn't see that coming. How it was resolved, I didn't see that coming either.
Love as I did this read, I am left hanging and questioning and wanting...
Okay, I did enjoy this truly so I will settle for a four stars simply for the smiles and the frustrations that rose for Ryan's sake. And my need to read more of Blake.
Note: eARC provided by author for tour hosted by Pride Promotions.
September 19, 2020
I really wish I could say that I don't know how to feel about this reading, that it was fascinating, that it was absolutely magnificent, etcetera, etcetera. However, I can't, and I still can't get over Mikos's audacity to promise the world to Ryan so that at the crucial moment of putting his talk into action he will back down. Yeah damn there was evidence, and all the shit, but if I loved someone as much as Mikos swore to Ryan the least I could do was give him a genuine vote of confidence and not something fragile that can be broken with a breath of air. Ryan also annoyed me for allowing Mikos to use it at will as if it were a worthless fucking fuck that he could use and throw without even saying a word to it. Damn, literally the shame of others wallowed inside me every second, not to mention the contempt for marriage blackmail, Mikos' despotic attitude towards the person he loved, and Ryan's lack of independence. Fucking shit, Ryan was the fucking consort, a former high-ranking soldier, a man with experience in tough situations, yet throughout the book I thought of him as a bossy little doll unable to make his position clear and adopt a firm attitude. On the other hand, the story had very good points like hot and sweaty sex, heartbreak in sweet times and Mikos's immediate crush, if Mikos had kept his promises he would have had this book on a fucking pedestal without hesitation. But damn it all they screwed up with - which in my opinion - was a betrayal of Mikos' love for the colonel. Maybe if the author had broken down a little more the part of "my love, I beg your forgiveness" by Mikos to Ryan things would have been different and the rating as well.
January 18, 2016
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie in exchange for a fair and honest review. ***
Prince Mikos of Tygeria isn't too keen on marrying a human woman, but he's willing to sacrifice for the greater good and lasting peace between the Alliance and Tygeria. When his prospective bride runs away before they meet, they decide to substitute her with her brother, Ryan, which suits Mikos best, since Tygerians prefer men anyway.
Ryan isn't too happy about this, though. He's straight and the attraction he feels for Mikos confuses him. He is unable to deny it and finally gives in, marrying Mikos and agreeing to the procedure to have his baby. They grow close and fall for each other, however, there's trouble in paradise as ARes (the Alliance Resistance), 'rescue' Ryan from Tygeria in an effort to overturn the truce that had been reached.
I really enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced and had a lot of action, romance and very hot scenes between Ryan and Mikos, both of which I loved. I wasn't too sure about Ryan at first, but he won me over and by the end, he was my favorite of the two. I wanted to slap some sense into Mikos a couple of times (or more), even if I did understand why he acted like he did. They had great chemistry and I just loved how they couldn't keep their hands (and other parts) off each other, even when they were at odds.
All in all, a very good read!
Rating: 4.5 Stars!!!
Prince Mikos of Tygeria isn't too keen on marrying a human woman, but he's willing to sacrifice for the greater good and lasting peace between the Alliance and Tygeria. When his prospective bride runs away before they meet, they decide to substitute her with her brother, Ryan, which suits Mikos best, since Tygerians prefer men anyway.
Ryan isn't too happy about this, though. He's straight and the attraction he feels for Mikos confuses him. He is unable to deny it and finally gives in, marrying Mikos and agreeing to the procedure to have his baby. They grow close and fall for each other, however, there's trouble in paradise as ARes (the Alliance Resistance), 'rescue' Ryan from Tygeria in an effort to overturn the truce that had been reached.
I really enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced and had a lot of action, romance and very hot scenes between Ryan and Mikos, both of which I loved. I wasn't too sure about Ryan at first, but he won me over and by the end, he was my favorite of the two. I wanted to slap some sense into Mikos a couple of times (or more), even if I did understand why he acted like he did. They had great chemistry and I just loved how they couldn't keep their hands (and other parts) off each other, even when they were at odds.
All in all, a very good read!
Rating: 4.5 Stars!!!
January 28, 2016
MF masquerading as MM
Honestly, writing slash is more than just superficial plastering of gender. The reason many women, including myself, enjoy well written MM is because you often get a love and/or lust story which doesn't revolve around outdated (and never realistic) gender extremes. In this work the couples consist of a dominant male and a feminine (softer, weaker) partner- a woman in sheep's clothing. The man gets to sin against the 'woman' with no actual consequences cause (s)he's all forgiving and understanding because of a luuuuuuuuve which doesn't require anything near equality or respect. This work also suffers from what I call the "I've got mine, **ck everybody else" syndrome - you know, when the woman (feminized man) abandons their beliefs and ethics, basically what makes them an individual, and gives the male partner absolute loyalty. Really disappointing story and characters. Truly a 1970's Harlequin romance.
Gave two stars because, like I said, good mechanics and because there are people who actually can tolerate and even enjoy this trope. If it's your thing you can read worse.
Honestly, writing slash is more than just superficial plastering of gender. The reason many women, including myself, enjoy well written MM is because you often get a love and/or lust story which doesn't revolve around outdated (and never realistic) gender extremes. In this work the couples consist of a dominant male and a feminine (softer, weaker) partner- a woman in sheep's clothing. The man gets to sin against the 'woman' with no actual consequences cause (s)he's all forgiving and understanding because of a luuuuuuuuve which doesn't require anything near equality or respect. This work also suffers from what I call the "I've got mine, **ck everybody else" syndrome - you know, when the woman (feminized man) abandons their beliefs and ethics, basically what makes them an individual, and gives the male partner absolute loyalty. Really disappointing story and characters. Truly a 1970's Harlequin romance.
Gave two stars because, like I said, good mechanics and because there are people who actually can tolerate and even enjoy this trope. If it's your thing you can read worse.
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