Stranded with the Alien Brute: Warrior Mates of Zivon, Book 7 by Presley Hall

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m stranded in space with the grouchiest alien in the universe.

After being held captive by the Kruul for weeks, it’s a relief to finally be free. Or…mostly free.

Instead of being locked up in a holding cell, I’m now stuck on a broken spaceship with a sexy silver fox who seems to hate me.

Although it’s clear that Anzir intends to complete his rescue mission and keep me safe, I can tell he’s not happy about it. We get under each other’s skin, and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because he’s older than me, or because I’m an optimist and he’s the grouchiest, most stoic man I’ve ever met.

But the truth is, if we want to have a chance of making it back to The Oasis, we’ll need to work together.

And the more we learn to rely on one another, the more I start to realize….

This gruff alien brute might just have a heart after all.

And it might belong to me.

Stranded with the Alien Brute is a full-length stand-alone sci-fi romance featuring a grumpy hero who’s set in his ways and the sweet, spunky woman who wins him over

Stranded with the Alien Brute

High stakes sci-fi adventure!

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💚💜💙🩷
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📔📘
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: 😒🤩😀🙂
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Dual Narration

The heroine: Maya – she and her older sister Darcy, forced into modeling by their mom, lived in Los Angeles. They went to a suspicious audition and tried to leave when the doors locked. Aliens then kidnapped them and other girls, tranquilized them, and they woke up in cages with translator implants, and find that they will be sold as sex slaves. Darcy and Maya are sold at auction to the Kruul, who keep Maya to use as a threat against her sister, to get her to spy on and sabotage the Zivonians. Her sister and two Zivonians rescue her, before she and a Zivonian named Anzir end up stranded on a dead ship they stole from the Kruul, floating around in the emptiness of space.

The Hero: Anzir – he is attracted to the pretty Terran girl from the beginning, so he does his best to stay away from her as he tries to fix the Kruulian ship. Anzir remembers the day the Zivonians were first attacked by the Kruul. He lost everything that day and was injured badly. He still gets aches from that day even though he was healed and you can hardly tell he was ever injured. When he needs to rewire part of the ship he can’t fit into, he tracks down Maya to help him.

The Story: Maya isn’t too fond of crawling into that tight space but goes ahead and conquers her fear to help him. They finally get the ship moving, but then something else happens. They can’t win for losing. Anzir feels like he keeps making vows in his life that he can’t keep, like on the day the Kruul attacked. He is grumpy because he feels like a failure, and he has so many regrets. He doesn’t want this to be another. So, he keeps trying to fix the ship.

I liked the storylines, especially the fact that they go on an adventure in space. I get a bit sick of the stories of human women who are abducted by aliens and end up on a planet with a civilization that isn’t even as advanced as our own. In this one, they go to a few different settings and there are some suspenseful situations. There is a ton of chemistry between them, but Anzir is older than Maya and he thinks his one chance at love has come and gone. Plus, he is a gentleman and doesn’t want to take advantage of Maya.

The space adventure, the high-stakes tension, and the emotional depth all come together beautifully. I love how Anzir’s internal conflict adds complexity to the romance, making it feel earned rather than rushed. And the fact that Maya actively conquers her fears rather than just being a passive damsel is a great touch. A sci-fi romance that actually explores different planets, cultures, and settings keeps things fresh.

This audiobook was told in multiple perspectives, done in dual narration and narrated by Stefanie Kay and C.J. Grey. both are very good narrators. C.J. Grey has a deep, gravelly voice which works well for alien romance. Stefanie Kay has a clear, feminine voice and sounds the right age for the heroine. The multiple perspectives and dual narration are a great way to bring the characters to life.

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