Helpful Score: 3
This is the third book in the Alien Huntress series and I really did not like it all that much. Compared with the previous two books this one definitely fell solidly into the romance category; way too much page space was given to the main characters needing each other, owning each other, and forgetting what they were doing because they weren't together.
In this book Mishka rescues Jaxon (he appeared as Mia Snow's co-worker in the first Alien Huntress novel) from torture by Otherworlders. Mishka is a Shadow, an assassin that kills Otherworlders to protect humans. She is supposed to get information from Jaxon about a virus that a new type of Otherworlder has brought to earth. The virus turns humans into flesh-eating monsters of a sort. Of course, as you might imagine, Mishka and Jaxon hit it off pretty well. This is complicated by the fact that Mishka is part machine and her actions are controlled by a computer chip in her brain.
The characters from the first two books join Mishka in this novel. Eden and Lucuis really do not play a large role. Mia Snow plays a slightly larger role than Eden or Lucius; but mainly she is a jerk like in the first book. It would be helpful to have read the back-stories on Mia and Eden, but not necessary to understand the plot of this book. The only ray of light in this book for me was Mishka's conversations with her internal computer; some of those were a tiny bit funny.
There were so many things that I didn't like about this book I am not sure where to start. First of all Mishka isn't a strong character. She is distracted and whiny and needy almost the whole book; the only place she shines is in her kick-butt fight scenes...but those are rare. Jaxon, who I actually liked in the first book, sheds all his personality in this book and turns into an obsessed/possessive character. In fact Jaxon is just about absent of any personality outside of his unexplainable obsession with Mishka. Why are Jaxon and Mishka attracted to each other? This remains a mystery to me; I guess we are just supposed to accept that they are.
Mishka and Jaxon's obession basically destroys what could be an interesting story line. In every scene they are apart (or together) Mishka and Jaxon can't work because they are thinking about each other. The whole thing was pretty intense (not in a good way), and pretty boring to read about for 300+ pages. The plot could have been very interesting with the new alien race and viruses and all. The action scenes also weren't as prevalent in this book and were constantly interrupted by Mishka or Jaxon worrying about each other. There were a lot of sex scenes and, while they were a bit more creative than in "Enslave Me Sweetly", they still weren't all that great. I also missed the humor in this book. Both Mishka and Jaxon were 100% devoid of any humor what-so-ever and that took a lot away from the story.
The main plotline with the virus is never well resolved either. I am assuming it continues in Book 4 "Seduce the Darkness" of this series. I own book 4 and will eventually read it, but for now enough is enough. There was so much mush and needing/owning each other junk in this book that I fear, if the next one follows in this book's path, my eyes will fall out my head from me rolling them so much. After reading the first three Alien Huntress books in a row these books are also starting to feel a bit formulaic to me. Maybe I just need to clear my head with something a bit more substantial before I read another one.
In this book Mishka rescues Jaxon (he appeared as Mia Snow's co-worker in the first Alien Huntress novel) from torture by Otherworlders. Mishka is a Shadow, an assassin that kills Otherworlders to protect humans. She is supposed to get information from Jaxon about a virus that a new type of Otherworlder has brought to earth. The virus turns humans into flesh-eating monsters of a sort. Of course, as you might imagine, Mishka and Jaxon hit it off pretty well. This is complicated by the fact that Mishka is part machine and her actions are controlled by a computer chip in her brain.
The characters from the first two books join Mishka in this novel. Eden and Lucuis really do not play a large role. Mia Snow plays a slightly larger role than Eden or Lucius; but mainly she is a jerk like in the first book. It would be helpful to have read the back-stories on Mia and Eden, but not necessary to understand the plot of this book. The only ray of light in this book for me was Mishka's conversations with her internal computer; some of those were a tiny bit funny.
There were so many things that I didn't like about this book I am not sure where to start. First of all Mishka isn't a strong character. She is distracted and whiny and needy almost the whole book; the only place she shines is in her kick-butt fight scenes...but those are rare. Jaxon, who I actually liked in the first book, sheds all his personality in this book and turns into an obsessed/possessive character. In fact Jaxon is just about absent of any personality outside of his unexplainable obsession with Mishka. Why are Jaxon and Mishka attracted to each other? This remains a mystery to me; I guess we are just supposed to accept that they are.
Mishka and Jaxon's obession basically destroys what could be an interesting story line. In every scene they are apart (or together) Mishka and Jaxon can't work because they are thinking about each other. The whole thing was pretty intense (not in a good way), and pretty boring to read about for 300+ pages. The plot could have been very interesting with the new alien race and viruses and all. The action scenes also weren't as prevalent in this book and were constantly interrupted by Mishka or Jaxon worrying about each other. There were a lot of sex scenes and, while they were a bit more creative than in "Enslave Me Sweetly", they still weren't all that great. I also missed the humor in this book. Both Mishka and Jaxon were 100% devoid of any humor what-so-ever and that took a lot away from the story.
The main plotline with the virus is never well resolved either. I am assuming it continues in Book 4 "Seduce the Darkness" of this series. I own book 4 and will eventually read it, but for now enough is enough. There was so much mush and needing/owning each other junk in this book that I fear, if the next one follows in this book's path, my eyes will fall out my head from me rolling them so much. After reading the first three Alien Huntress books in a row these books are also starting to feel a bit formulaic to me. Maybe I just need to clear my head with something a bit more substantial before I read another one.
I read this book three times. Maybe it was just me but I enjoyed it a lot and I have read a lot of books by Gena Showalter but this is the best
I love all of Gena Showalter's books (the Lords of the Underworld are my favorite), and this book didn't disappoint. A seductive assassin saves a government agent from certain death... and together they discover what they both need in each other. Mishka has many secrets and a tortured past, but Jaxon tears through all her defenses with his passion and strength. Their love unfolds as they open up to each other. As in her other books, Showalter does a great job at weaving an intense love story with an "edge of your seat" action story. What an amazing author!
I have been reading this series out of order. So I haven't read the first two books but I have read a few of the ones after this one. I really wanted to hate Mishka when I read the other books because I thought the idea of an alien/human/android was overdone. But I ended up adoring her after reading this book. I like her back story and her interaction with Jaxson. Now I don't think I like Mia, but again I haven't read her story.
I think what I really like about Showalter novels is the way her characters act with each other. There is a lot of banter, humor, and camaraderie. It makes me want to keep reading about them and finding out more about them.
Trying not to give away too much but I did think Jaxson resolved Mishka's problem a little too easily. But otherwise, it was a fun book to read.
I think what I really like about Showalter novels is the way her characters act with each other. There is a lot of banter, humor, and camaraderie. It makes me want to keep reading about them and finding out more about them.
Trying not to give away too much but I did think Jaxson resolved Mishka's problem a little too easily. But otherwise, it was a fun book to read.
Great book, adore the entire series!
