Olmi Warriors Book 1
Warning: Strong sexual language in the book and this review.
This is the first ARC I’ve ever reviewed! If you’re not familiar with the book release process, an ARC is an advanced reader copy. Pre-release, authors give out ARCs for their book in return for honest reviews. As I will one day have to do this, I thought I’d first try it from the reader’s perspective.
This is a fated mates trope. It may be classed as alien abduction, but technically, Dawna gets on the ship of her own free will while trying to stop her sister from leaving with the aliens.
The plot is nicely paced in the beginning. Dawna unwittingly becomes a stowaway on the alien ship and is trying to work out what the hell is going on. Once the world-building is established, however, the pace flags a bit.
Sylas is adorable. If you can call a giant, grey-and-blue hulking alien – with sensual and erogenous hair that moves and glows – adorable. It’s not just that he’s gorgeous, it’s his possessiveness and desire to protect – it sends tingles up the spine. He wanted to take care of Dawna from the second he clapped eyes on her and even though he was desperate to have sex and seal their bond, he waited. He allowed her time to adjust. He offered to let her return to Earth, just to make her happy, even though he would have found it unbearable. Sylas mixes alpha hero with cinnamon roll perfectly.
Dawna is feisty and independent and fights the pull of the bond. She’s determined to get home but promises to try. I also liked that she’s pragmatic. There’s no screaming panic. Dawna accepts her situation but also works towards resolving it and returning to Earth.
I found Dawna really relatable. She both bristles at Sylas’s possessiveness, but also likes it, and she’s not necessarily happy about how much she likes it either. Then she keeps saying it’s unfair to lead him on because she’s leaving, but at times she can’t resist the pull. It keeps the tension nice and high.
The heat is there from the moment they met. Insta-lust is a constant, complete with filthy language to get the pulse going. Almost every page is filled with lusty glances. The desire between Sylas and Dawna is palpable and it takes over the plot. There’s constant banter about what they would like to do to one another. My only quibble with that is the overuse of the word: cunt. At times it was used on every page and it stopped adding a steamy kick to the dialogue and became commonplace.
Some niggling inconsistencies also let this book down. For example, in Sylas’s POV, he usually called her Da-na, but sometimes it became Dawna. There are formatting issues too, with big gaps between words. While not a story-related issue, it still detracted from my enjoyment of the book when my eyes had to jump over big spaces between the text.
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Feels: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heat: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
