Heroic Abduction by Eve Langlais
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
He’ll do anything to be her knight in purple armor.
Heroic Abduction
Bucking family tradition, Dyre is determined to become his planet’s first hero, even if it breaks his mother’s heart. He sets out on numerous quests to save the universe, however his altruism never seems to turn out quite as expected. Who knew doing the right thing was so hard?
In between saving those who don’t want his help—and the chaos that follows—he rescues a damsel in distress. She doesn’t appreciate his heroic abduction, and even worse, once Dyre gets to know the outspoken human, he entertains less than noble thoughts about ravishing her.
It takes only a couple of comical mishaps, some hot kisses and danger for Dyre and Betty to discover their happily ever after—and thank the stars for a heroine who ends up saving this hero, and the galaxy, from his chivalrous side.
Flawed Hero!
The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 🖤💙❤️💚
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: 🙃🙁😀😋
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration
The Hero: Dyre – he wants to become the Hero of his planet, so he doesn’t go the mercenary route like his family. To be good went against his natural instincts, so it was a constant struggle. He often asked why it was so hard to be good and noble. Especially when his parents want him to go the route of the other boys, stealing and murdering. His father ended up banishing him, and he was good with that. He wanted to battle the forces of evil, saving the downtrodden and rescuing maidens. Though often the people he rescued and saved didn’t appreciate it he expected.
“Good thing he hadn’t become a hero for the thanks. It was amazing how many people cursed him or tried to kill him when he saved them from themselves. Some even attacked him at the cost of their lives. More than one planet had banned him after a gallant act.”
“It is my duty to save them, whether they want it or not.”
The heroine: Betty – she had been abducted from earth a while ago and now was just trying to make her way in the galaxy as a mercenary. Her plan was to get kidnapped by a hairy troll and taken back to his lair where it was told he had untold riches. However, some bumbling (but cute) Hero got in her way and got all the locals up in arms in the process.
The Story: Dyre was quite an unconventional character, different than in most alien romance. He was a bit of an idiot, and he was completely oblivious to what was happening around him. He also had quite an inflated ego, despite the fact that so many people didn’t receive his acts as helpful to their situation. When he rescues the human female, he is surprised because he has only heard that the earthlings are barbarians and not on the approved list of galactic travelers. She told him that many human females had been trafficked and that he had messed up her plan, and she needed to be rescued from the horde that now chased them because of his act.
Dyre is delightfully misguided, and I love the contrast between his grand heroic aspirations and the reality of how people react to his “help.” His unwavering dedication to saving others—whether they want it or not—adds a layer of tragic irony to his character. There’s something fascinating about a hero whose noble intentions continually backfire, yet he refuses to reconsider his approach. His obliviousness makes him both frustrating and endearing, setting him apart from the typical brooding or hypercompetent alien protagonists.
Betty, on the other hand, seems wonderfully pragmatic, balancing out Dyre’s misplaced enthusiasm with her sharp survival instincts. Her mercenary mindset and realistic approach to navigating the galaxy make her the perfect foil to his well-meaning but misguided heroics. Their first encounter—him inadvertently ruining her careful plan—sets up a great dynamic. She’s out here trying to make calculated moves, and he crashes in, convinced he’s saving the day.
This one had the makings of a compelling alien romance, one where the hero’s earnestness collides with real-world consequences, and the heroine is forced to deal with the fallout. There’s a lot of potential in their chemistry: will Betty slowly teach Dyre the nuance of heroism, or will he stubbornly cling to his flawed ideals? Either way, it was both entertaining and emotionally rich. It was a fun one for certain.
This audiobook was narrated from multiple perspectives, done in dual narration by J.F. Harding and Holly Chandler. J.F. Harding has a terrific voice, a bit gruff and gravelly. He is also plenty expressive which I like. Holly Chandler has a clear, strong voice and is just as expressive as J.F., so they work well together.
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