Review: Barbarian's Touch by Ruby Dixon

 

Barbarian's Touch (Ice Planet Barbarians #7)  by Ruby Dixon

Publication Date: January 2nd 2024 by Berkley (special edition) 

Pages: 339

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Barbarian’s Touch is book seven in the series. It’s best to start at the beginning, even though each book focuses on a specific couple. The human women and sa-khui have come together, but it’s been an ongoing process best experienced in order.

 

Kira, one of the Earth women, and the sa-khui men venture back to the crashed spaceship to awaken two of the women in stasis. Lila wakes up and has no idea where she is, but she can’t hear. Her cochlear implant is gone and she’s terrified. The situation is disturbing and not being able to communicate with the others adds to the panic. Fortunately, she has her sister Maddie to translate in sign language.

 

A few of the male aliens are focused intensely on Lila and Maddie, which is unsettling. Little do they know, the sa-khui men are anxious to find a mate and there are few females. The journey back to the tribal caves is cold and treacherous, so they both rely on the aliens for survival. In route, one of sa-khui males kidnaps Lila. She’s afraid he’ll start to make demands if she doesn’t do something soon, so she plans her escape. I was enraged in Lila’s behalf!

 

Each couple has had a unique journey with obstacles to overcome. Being deaf, Lila faced her own set of challenges, and I was impressed by how she handled it all! Rokan was amazing and supportive, giving Lila space to make her own choices and helping her learn to survive on her own. It was empowering and I love how it helped her confidence grow.  I adored both Rokan and Lila so much! This was a slow burn romance, but as with the previous books, this is extra-spicy, hot stuff!

There was a new, exciting discovery that I think is wonderful and should enhance living on “Not-Hoth”.

I felt like Barbarian’s Touch was a bit of a reset/refresh, as Lila and Maddie have just been awakened and are coming to grips with being taken from Earth.

I read/listened to the first few books a while back, so I was excited about the Berkley Special Editions. I love their new, gorgeous covers and extras! This copy had an extended epilogue and a special guide of characters with descriptions, which is helpful. I also really appreciated the author’s note describing her own personal experience with hearing loss.

4 Stars

Book Description:

The next novel in the Ice Planet Barbarians series, an international publishing phenomenon—now in a special print edition with a bonus new epilogue!

Lila has never been more frightened in her life, but when Rokan appears, everything changes.

When I wake up on the ice planet, I’m scared of This place is cold, silent, and the locals look more like blue devils than aliens. To make matters worse, one of the strangers decides I’m going to be his girlfriend and kidnaps me away from my sister. I’m completely and utterly alone. What’s a girl to do?

Well, this girl escapes.

Of course, that means I go from the frying pan into the fire, and my situation gets even more dangerous. Just when I have no hope left, a new hero shows up. Sure, he’s blue, horned, and has a tail. He’s also fierce, protective, makes me purr...and thinks I'm perfect.

But is what we have real or just a mating instinct?

 

Review: Barbarian's Mate by Ruby Dixon

 

Barbarian's Mate (Ice Planet Barbarians #6) Special Edition by Ruby Dixon

Publication Date: July 11th 2023 by Berkley

Pages: 320

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Josie has witnessed all the other women from the shipwreck mate, fall in love, have babies, and she wants what they have. Love and a family. Josie had a sad upbringing being tossed about from foster home to foster home. She’s longed to feel loved and cherished. She wants to resonate and finally gets her wish, but it’s to Haeden, the grumpy alien male that glares at her every chance he gets. She can’t stand him, and they’ve been sparring since the beginning of the series. So, she’s sooo not happy about that!

Haeden wasn’t one of the males clamoring for a human female mate. We knew he had a mate that died and sa-khui only mate once, so I wasn’t sure how he was able to resonate to Josie, but all is explained as Haeden reluctantly reveals his sad story. It also explains why Haeden was so growly and glare-y at Josie and I could completely understand.

I’ve been waiting for Josie’s story with Haeden since their interactions have spanned the series and the story did not disappoint! Josie had such a traumatic upbringing so I could totally understand why she wouldn’t want to mated to someone she thought didn’t like her. She fights the mating and it would’ve been better if they had some frank conversations. Still, it didn’t play out too long and I was happy Haeden got to see Josie as a smart, capable woman instead of the fragile human he thought her to be. Haeden was a complete sweetheart once he started talking.

I wonder about the island Josie spied while on her journey, with its greenery. Josie’s discovery on the crashed ship opens up possibilities in the coming books. Don’t want to spoil so I won’t say more, but that discovery had me eager for more!

I read the first three books a while back, but was happy to get back this spicy, sci-fi series and get the special edition print copies! I love the new covers and novellas included!

4 Stars

Book Description:

The next novel in the international publishing phenomenon the Ice Planet Barbarians series, now in a special print edition with a bonus novella!

Josie has always dreamed of finding The One, but the hunter chosen for her is nothing like what she expected (or wanted)—but he might be exactly what she needs.
 
“Resonance” is supposed to be a dream—that’s when your soulmate is chosen for you. And every woman on the ice planet has hooked up with a big, hunky soulmate of their own—except me. So do I want a mate? Heck yeah. More than anything, all I’ve ever wanted is to be loved by someone.

But the soulmate chosen for me? My least favorite person on the darn ice planet. Haeden’s the most cranky, disapproving, unpleasant, overbearing male alien . . . so why is it that my body sings when he gets close? Why is he working so hard to prove to me that he’s not as awful as I think he is?

I hate him . . . don’t I?

About the author:

Ruby Dixon is an author of all things science fiction romance. She is a Sagittarius and a Reylo shipper, and loves farming sims (but not actual housework). She lives in the South with her husband and a couple of geriatric cats, and can’t think of anything else to put in her biography. Truly, she is boring.

Review & Excerpt: Barbarian's Prize by Ruby Dixon

Barbarian's Prize (Ice Planet Barbarians #5) by Ruby Dixon

Publication Date: February 28th 2023 by Berkley

Pages: 304

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Tiffany is one of the last human women on available “Not-Hoth” with the others having resonated and mated. So she’s inundated with male attention, something she doesn’t feel comfortable with at all.  Tiffany isn’t interested in any male after her time in the “bad” alien’s spaceship.  The abuse and assaults she suffered, which she has yet to share with anyone else, has made any male attention repugnant.  That is except for Salukh. He doesn’t pressure her like the other males and it’s easy to talk to him about her time and life on Earth and soon she finds herself confiding bits of her horrific time on the spaceship.

Salukh is sure Tiffany is his mate, but can’t understand why they haven’t resonated yet. He’s patient though, even more so when he finds out what she’s been through and sets about to win her friendship first and then her heart. I loved Salukh.

My heart went out to Tiffany in this installment. The sa-khui men didn’t mean to make her uncomfortable and it’s not their fault since Tiffany hasn’t told anyone the reasons why the attentions are so difficult for her. I felt bad for the guys that participated in the contests for Tiffany that Josie set up. Salukh suffered too because Tiffany wouldn’t speak up, but at the same time I know she went through hell so I couldn’t fault her too much. With Tiffany’s past experience you might think we’d skip the major sexy times present in the previous books, but that’s not the case. It is a more of a slow burn to start but grows into a sexy inferno! This series is hot stuff!

Barbarian’s Prize dealt with the aftermath of serious trauma, but was balanced with snarky, fun humor so it wasn’t predominately dark. I laughed at the bits with Chompy and smiled when Tiffany spent time with the new babies. Ice Planet Honeymoon is included in this Berkley special edition, which was a complete delight! Loved getting more of Chompy (too cute and funny!) and seeing Tiffany and Salukh get their HEA!

4 Stars

Excerpt:

Book Description:

Tiffany doesn’t care about all the attention she’s getting from the alien men, but there is one particular hunter she can see herself with—if only she can find a way to move forward from the past. . . .

It’s hard being the most popular girl on the ice planet. The alien men are falling all over themselves to impress me in the hopes that I’ll take them to my furs. But they don’t know my secrets. And they don’t realize that behind my smile, I just wish they’d take their courting presents and their competitions for my affection and go away. I want to be left alone. But on a planet where women are a scarcity, that won’t be happening.

If I had to choose a mate . . . it’d be someone with a gorgeous blue body, big horns, and the most intense gaze ever. Someone who knows the truth of what happened to me and why I don’t like attention. Patient, handsome Salukh knows my secrets. He knows why I have nightmares and why I don’t trust anyone. He’s willing to let me “experiment” with him. I can use him. Take what I need from him to work through my trauma. He’s been a good friend and the best shoulder to cry on.

There’s one small problem.

When it comes to us, he doesn’t just want to be my friend. He wants to be my forever. And day by day, he’s getting harder to resist. . . .

About the author:

Ruby Dixon is an author of all things science fiction romance. She is a Sagittarius and a Reylo shipper, and loves farming sims (but not actual housework). She lives in the South with her husband and a couple of geriatric cats, and can’t think of anything else to put in her biography. Truly, she is boring.

Review & Excerpt: Barbarian Mine by Ruby Dixon

 

Barbarian Mine (Ice Planet Barbarians #4) by Ruby Dixon

Publication Date: September 13th 2022 by Berkley Books

Pages: 336

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Harlow was abducted by horrible green alien men who kidnapped a bunch of Earth women to sell/trade, who knows what, to other planets. They are truly awful, but thankfully, they crash on an icy planet they’ve dubbed “Not-Hoth”, like in Star Wars, because of its similarity to the fictional planet. Here they discover an alien race called the sa-khui dying out because of the lack of females. See where this is going? Fortunately, somehow the human females on the crashed ship are able to “resonate” and mate with the male sa-khui and there have already been a few mated pairs in the last books. Harlow hasn’t mated yet, but she’s happy to be on Not-Hoth all the same because on Earth she had terminal brain cancer that has been eradicated by the khui placed in her to make living on the planet possible. However, while out on a exhibition she is kidnapped by another sa-khui male, a sort of Tarzan Barbarian because he’s grown up away from the main tribe and has limited speaking or social skills. Of course, they “resonate” to each other meaning they’re mates.

I read the first two books a few years ago and loved the stories, but the Special Edition prompted me to dive back in and read Harlow and Rukh’s story. I really enjoyed getting back into this world! Rukh is so uncivilized, but sweet and entirely devoted to Harlow! He had his own sad story. I was captivated as they learned to communicate and Harlow educated him on more civilized living, and in ways of romance. Very spicy romance! They grow close, but life out alone comes with dangers they have to face and they may not be able to overcome all of them on their own.

As with the previous books, Barbarian Mine is some hot stuff, and was a quick, fun read, but there is bonus material in the Special Edition. The extra story “Fathers”, Harlow and Rukh’s Honeymoon that was previously a separate additional short story and a guide with characters and explanation of the backstory. I loved all the extra material, both the epilogue and short story touched my heart! The guide is really helpful. Still, I’d start from the beginning with this series.

4 Stars

Excerpt:

Harlow

I need two poles for a travois. Two. No problem. There's got to be trees in the distance, and I'm strong and whole.

Okay. I can do this. I can.

Aehako's instructions ring through my mind, over and over. We need to make a travois and take Haeden back to the healer. My heart races wildly in my chest as I sprint through the snow, looking for the thin, pink, wispy trees of this planet. Kira's gone, and both aliens are wounded. They need my help, and I can't let them down. I don't know why they don't go back to the alien ship and get healed. They don't trust it, and I guess I understand that. I'm used to technology, and it still freaks me out to think of the cold, emotionless voice of the computer.

Also, I know what it's like to fear the doctor.

My feet sink into the snow with each step, and my leather boots quickly become sodden. There's no time to fix them or reinforce the insides with warm dvisti fur. Time is of the essence. I trudge forward over a drift-covered hill, and when I see the pink, wispy eyelashes of trees in the distance, I pick up the pace.

Almost there.

I have Haeden's knife, since he's too wounded to use it. The bone handle is smooth in my hand, though it's a little too big for my human-sized palm to grip comfortably. Everything here on Not-Hoth is sa-khui sized. I'm a decent height for a girl, but the average person on this planet seems to be seven feet tall, and the snows are deep, the caves huge. Really, everything feels just a wee bit too big. It's like I've been transported to a Goldilocks house, except instead of just right, everything's too large.

It's just one more thing I must adjust to in an endless stream of new and frightening things.

Weeks ago, I went to sleep in my own bed, and the biggest concern on my mind was when I'd start my chemo. Then, a few weird dreams later, I woke up, shivering and weak, pulled from a tube and told I'd been abducted by aliens.

Which would have been hard to believe except that I'd come from Houston, Texas, and my air conditioner had gone out, so I'd spent the evening sweating and praying the repairman would come by soon. When I'd woken up? It had been so cold my bare feet had stuck to the metal floors, and strange blue aliens occasionally entered to chat with the humans.

It's hard to call someone a liar when they're seven feet tall, blue, and horned. After seeing that, I had to believe. And even though sometimes I want to pinch myself until I wake up, I have to accept the fact that I'm now living on a snow planet with no chance of getting home, and I'm infected with an alien parasite that allows me to endure the harsh conditions of Not-Hoth. Not exactly how I'd visualized my future at all.

But . . . at least I have a future.

According to the ship's medical computers, I'm cancer-free now. I don't know if it's wrong, or if it's Not-Hoth's atmosphere or the new "cootie" (as some of the girls call it) living in my chest.

All I know is that the inoperable brain tumor isn't showing up in scans. And for the first time in the last year, I have hope.

But first . . . a travois.

When I get to the trees, I move to the closest one and touch the bark with my fingertips. It feels spongy and damp despite the chill in the air, and not sturdy enough to support a massive, muscled alien. I have no idea if this will work, but I'll give it a shot. I owe the sa-khui my life, and so I'm going to do my best to help Haeden and Aehako.

Kneeling down, I begin to hack at the base of the first tree. The knife sinks in with a squishing noise, and sap squirts out onto the snow. Ugh. I wrinkle my nose and keep cutting, determined. Kira's gone, and they're wounded, so I'm the only one that can help.

The snow crunches nearby.

I stand upright, surprised. It almost sounded like a footstep. "Hello?" I turn around and look. "Aehako?"

No one's there. The snowy landscape is barren, nothing but rolling drifts as far as the eye can see.

I must be imagining things. I'm not alone out here in the wild. There're creatures everywhere, or so the hunters tell me. It could be one of the porcupine-looking things. Or maybe it's a rabbit. Or . . . whatever the rabbit equivalent on this planet is.

I can't be a silly chicken and freak out at every little sound, though. I turn back to the tree and continue hacking at it.

I hear the crunch of snow again, and a moment later, a heavy thudding. My blood feels like it's surging in my ears, and I press a hand to my head, wincing.

No, wait. That's not thudding or drumming. My heart is calm. Is it . . . purring?

Something slams into the back of my head, and I pitch forward into darkness.

Even there, the strange purring follows me.

Book Description:

The fourth novel in the international publishing phenomenon the Ice Planet Barbarians series, now in a special print edition with bonus materials and an exclusive epilogue!

Harlow receives the shock of her life when she wakes up to see Rukh, a stranger who has clearly been on his own his whole life, but she soon learns that there is much more to this gruff, barbaric alien than the savage he appears to be.

The ice planet has given me a second lease on life, so I'm thrilled to be here. Sure, there are no cheeseburgers, but I'm healthy and ready to be a productive member of the small tribe. What I didn't anticipate? That there'd be a savage stranger waiting nearby, watching me. And when he takes me captive, the unthinkable happens...I resonate to him.

Resonance means mating, and children...but I don't know if this guy's ever been around anyone before. Rukh is utterly wild. He's completely uncivilized, can't speak more than a few words and doesn't know what clothes are. A human--a human woman--is mystifying to him. He's truly a barbarian in all ways, and like Tarzan in the stories, he's kidnapped me and claimed me for his own.

Being with him means I'm going to have to teach him to speak, how to kiss, and how to be human. Or even alien. It should be a terrifying prospect...so why is it that I crave his touch and hunger for more?

About the author:

Ruby Dixon is an author of all things science fiction romance. She is a Sagittarius, a Reylo shipper, and loves farming sims (but not actual housework). She lives in the South with her husband and a couple of geriatric cats, and can't think of anything else to put in her biography. Truly, she is boring.