Mercenary Brute by Cass Carlton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jade is a force to be reckoned with on the tow ship, with an optimistic and bright personality that shines through in every situation. But don’t let her petite frame fool you – she doesn’t put up with anyone’s shit and can be tough as nails when she needs to be. Unfortunately, a lot of people mistake her size for weakness and try to take advantage of her.

Enter Qil, a member of a brutish race of aliens known for their violent natures and retractable armor-like scales. He’s tall, with broad shoulders and spikes that can jut out from his body. Normally, his people keep to themselves on their own planet, but Qil is on the run. He killed his own clan chief for being involved in horrible black market deals, including the sale of his own people.

When Jade and Qil’s paths cross, it’s clear that they are from two very different worlds. But as they work together to uncover a dangerous conspiracy, they begin to realize that they may have more in common than they thought. Will their unlikely partnership be enough to take down the powerful forces working against them, or will they be crushed by the weight of the secrets they uncover? Find out in this thrilling sci-fi adventure.

Mercenary Brute

Good story, not too steamy!

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙❤️💚💜
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙
World building: 🌏🌍🌏🌍
Character development: 😊😘😟🥰
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Solo Narration

The heroine: Jade – she is a doctor aboard the Adira, a tow vessel in space. She loves her job and the crew of the Adira, though she is lonely. One day when they are docked on a shiny new space station, Jade takes the day to shop and explore the space station alone. She arranges for new medical supplies, shops at a bookstore, goes to a hair salon, stops for lunch and walks around a marketplace. Though it starts getting late when two slavers catch her unaware and pull her into an alley.

The Hero: Qil – he is a Lomect, a barbaric race of alien who thrive on fighting and warfare. They are known for their retractable armor and spikes that protect them and act as weapons when they fight. He is on the run after killing his clan chief who had gone crazy and was endangering everyone. He knows he is dead when he is found. Though when he sees a human female being attacked by two alien slavers, he doesn’t hesitate to fight them.

The Story: Though Qil is the clear winner of the battle with the slavers, basically tearing them to pieces, they were able to stab him with a poisoned knife and he was left bleeding and weak. When he passed out, Jade took charge and had him brought aboard the Adira. The ship took off on a mission and Qil spent the time getting better, though he was plagued with dreams of what he had done and how he might pay for it.

I liked this story the characters were great, and I liked the fact that the violent Qil easily got to know and like the crew of the Adira. Though he thought the time aboard was boring at first because it was so calm and there were no battles like he was used to. I also liked the fact that Jade wanted a strong and powerful warrior for her own. Also, Qil wanted to run because he didn’t want his clan to find him with the crew he had come to like, putting them in danger.

This audiobook was done in dual points of view via solo narration. It was narrated by Virtual Voice, computer generated narration. I like some of the voices which are used in virtual voice, but some of them put me to sleep. This was a male voice and though the narration was definitely a bit more stilted than when a real person is narrating, it was easy to listen to and I enjoyed it.

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